Melody of the Wind: United Death
by Stormshadow3
Summary: Discontinued. Sequel of a sequel. The premise was originally going to be settled, but I kept changing the story's focus every chapter and now it's only your best shot where the plot is supposed to be.
1. Background Information

...

 **(The previous book in the series was Hymn of the River: Finding Truth, and the first book in the series was Song of the Shadows: Losing Myself.)**

 **Dance of the Stars (DotS) Series**

 **-Book 3-**

 **Melody of the Wind: United Death**

 **By Stormshadow3, an invisible-artist-on-Deviantart who also likes coding on Scratch, is busy writing a new novel to publish since the old one was old and filled with the cringiest moments, irritating, tortilla-eating, *inserts adjective here* she-cat and fellow hawk**

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It is never the best to rely only on hope. But sometimes, there is no other choice.

Like us. We pretend not to acknowledge what is happening to ourselves. We pretend not to know. We pretend not to care. They know we acknowledge it. They know that we know. They know that we care. But who cares about hope when there is a real opportunity right in front of you? I know _I_ -

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Dance of the Stars (DotS) Series Book Three: Melody of the Wind: United Death

Copyright 2017 by Stormshadow3

-all rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address the author, Stormshadow3.

 **(This tradition is going to keep rolling on.)**

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For all those who fight to make others' lives better. This might mean you.

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Useful Information to Have Before You Start Reading

 **-StormClan (members of the newly-formed StormClan, a combination of the previous ThunderClan and WindClan at the BEGINNING of the story)-**

Leader: Spiderstar, a pitch black tom with small white paws and deep blue eyes

Deputy: Silverspark, a silver-gray she-cat with long fur and glinting amber eyes

Medicine cat: Snowcoat, a small, pure white she-cat with rounded features and pale green eyes

Medicine cat apprentice: Ebonypaw, a light brown tom with darker brown stripes and yellow eyes

Queens: Spottedcreek, a light gray she-cat with forest-green eyes (close to kitting) - mate is Featherbird

Elders: Stagfang, a thick-coated brown tom with ginger paws and blue eyes

Hailstrike, a white and gray she-cat with pebble-like energetic amber eyes

Birchshadow, a white tom with black and brown stripes, a scar down his left eye, and blind amber eyes

Chasers (other members of the previous ThunderClan)

Owlpounce, a brown and white tom with a large head and light amber eyes

Squirreltooth, a thick-furred gray she-cat with a white underbelly and dark eyes

Driftpad, a blue-gray tom with large paws and blue-green eyes

Featherbird, a black and white tom with a furry tail and warm golden eyes

Mothbreeze, a tortoiseshell she-cat with dark amber eyes

Foxnose, a russet tom with a white muzzle and belly and round blue eyes

Frozenpond, a light gray she-cat with white stripes and soft green eyes

Thistlehawk, a brown tom with short fur and narrowed yellow eyes

Mosswhisker, a small ginger she-cat with long brown stripes and spring green eyes

Dustpaw, a sand-colored tom with gray paws and pale blue eyes

Harepaw, a ginger and brown she-cat with nimble legs and small yellow eyes

Guarders (members of the previous WindClan)

Ratspeck, a gray and brown tom with small white paws and bright green eyes

Newtfur, a dark brown she-cat with a long tail and fiery amber eyes

Halftalon, a ginger tabby tom with gray stripes, a right paw with half of it clawed off and blue eyes

Batfang, a black she-cat with dark brown paws and gleaming yellow eyes

Eelpaw, a brown and light gray tom with short legs, a long tail, and mischievous hazel eyes

Furzepaw, a ginger she-cat with small brown paws, dark gray stripes, and yellow eyes

 **The Code of StormClan:**

1\. Defend your clan at all costs, no matter what position you are in.

2\. Chasers must be fed before Guarders; queens, kits, and elders eat first in both of the separate ranks

3\. Prey is killed only to be eaten. Give thanks to StarClan for its life.

4\. Chaser kits start training at six moons old, while Guarder kits start at five moons old.

5\. Newly appointed Chaser warriors will keep a silent vigil for one night after receiving their new names.

6\. No Chaser can be made deputy without having mentored at least one apprentice.

7\. The deputy will become clan leader when the leader dies, retires, or is exiled.

8\. The new leader must chose a deputy before moonhigh after the death, retirement, or exile of the previous leader.

9\. The word of the leader is the warrior code.

10\. Each Guarder warrior is free to choose their own path and can leave the clan at any time if needed.

 **Basics of Modern-Day StormClan:**

Chaser warriors are the main hunters and fighters of the clan, while Guarder warriors either guard the camps or hunt. The two ranks live in separate camps. Only those of ThunderClan descent can become leaders, deputies, medicine cats, or medicine cat apprentices.

The Chasers try to keep the Guarder population lower than themselves, which is why they added the tenth code.


	2. Running

**Here's a recap of the last book, not just for you but also for me (because it's been such a long time): Cedarpaw and the rest of the Wanderers are headed into the woods, to who-knows-where while he is being held at gunpoint. Or clawpoint. Or toothpoint. Or something.**

 **If you remember, then Glowpaw's mother, Sparrowchirp, is lead into the same patch of woods by the dead Glowpaw (who is possessed by a malicious spirit who wants to do who-knows-what), all while heading into who-knows-where.**

 **That sounds like a who-knows to me. Believe me, I don't know what half of these answers are, either. I'm just going to keep making up things as I go, and (hopefully) make it so that it involves StormClan!**

 **Here's another thing: the protagonist of this book wouldn't be a brand new stranger apprentice this time. It's someone we've met before, somewhere in Song of the Shadows... a kit then, to be exact...**

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Chapter 1

Harepaw, the Chaser apprentice, was being chased by a bunch of dogs up north of the lake, but meanwhile, Eelpaw was dumping fire ants into my nest. I knew that he was _there_ , since I had been watching him through the den entrance, but I decided to wait until he had gone back out, smirking, until I took action.

(I swapped nests with him, flipping the moss and bracken over expertly so that the fire ants were at the bottom and couldn't be seen.)

Before I could have time to do anything even more nasty, however, a scream rang out from somewhere in the other camp (like someone was murdered... huh) and my mentor burst through the entrance of the apprentices' den, gasping and panting like he had just been running for quite a while. "Furzepaw-"

I didn't wait for him to finish his sentence. "Dogs?" I guessed.

Ratspeck nodded in a grim manner. "Dogs," he confirmed. "Harepaw- you know that cheerful Chaser apprentice who gets lost of all the time? Let's see- clueless apprentice, times hunting patrol gone wrong, equals trouble. Plus dogs. Dustpaw's devastated right now, he doesn't know what to do-"

I saw a flash of pitch black out of the corner of my eye, and turned to see Spiderstar leaping down from the pile of boulders that separated the Chasers camp from the Guarders's. "I've been hearing for a long time that _someone_ here is hoarding medicine supplies!" he announced. "So, according to Stagfang..."

"If I know one thing," I muttered under my breath, "it's to never trust what that elder says."

"So, according to Stagfang," Spiderstar repeated, "someone has been keeping entire stashes of cobweb here without our consent. Our brave apprentice is suffering, and leaf-bare has brought fewer and fewer herbs-"

Eelpaw stood up near the other end of the clearing. "Spiderstar!" he called out in a fake respectful voice. "Spiderstar, this morning, I saw something like herbs stashed under one of the nests in the apprentices' den. I didn't report it, because I didn't think too much of it, but-"

"Fool!" Spiderstar barked, bounding towards where I was standing, petrified, right before the den entrance. "If only you had told us earlier, then maybe I wouldn't go to all this trouble- here, get out of the way-" he shoved me aside- "a life could have been saved-"

I wasn't listening anymore. My heart was pounding as Eelpaw padded calmly after the leader, gesturing with his tail towards my nest- now, technically, his nest. I knew that I swapped them before, but still, I didn't know what would happen if...

Spiderstar sniffed the nest, turning it over with a paw.

Nothing but moss and bracken showed. I could see a look of surprise on Eelpaw's face, and I wanted to strangle him until he dropped to the ground. "Make sure that it is actually _this_ nest," Spiderstar growled, turning to him. "I didn't think even my Guarder apprentices could be so idiotic..."

"It's not in either of the nests," I quickly piped up, praying to StarClan a million times that he would give up and not flip over the nest with the fire ants. "I'm sure that Eelpaw was mistaken."

Spiderstar looked at me suspiciously. "Now, you're the other apprentice that lives in here, right?" he confronted. "So wouldn't it make sense for you to say that?" Reaching out with a paw towards the other nest, I could already see a single fire ant crawling out from beneath the moss and-

" _Mrrrw!_ " Spiderstar screeched, pulling his paw back as fast as was possible. He turned, glowering at me with those eyes like blue flames, and I tried to swallow that lump in my throat, but somehow, it just wouldn't move.

Eelpaw was nervous, too, for the first time since I'd first met him. His paws seemed rooted to the ground, and there was a strange expression on his face that I couldn't quite make sense of. "I'm sure that that was just an accident..."

Spiderstar didn't reply. I wanted him to start screaming at us, to start hissing with pain as his front paw throbbed, throw us out of the den _right now_ even, anything but that chilling silence that was so much worse than all of those things combined-

"Go outside," he finally said, in a too-quiet voice that scared me. "Go outside and stay there for the whole night. Don't even think about supper, and you can just forget about- _aaarrrggghhh-_ "

"I understand, Spiderstar!" Eelpaw shouted behind his back as we raced for the camp entrance, the sounds of the leader cursing behind us as he was bit by another fire ant. Just before we appeared into the forest, however, a wail rang out from the other camp, loud and in despair- "Harepaw is dead!"

The both of us kept running on.


	3. Hunting

**Hello, peeps! On this beautiful day, we're going back with another chapter of... what was her name again? Furzepaw. Furzepaw's misadventures. Right. Eelpaw. Spiderstar. Cats. Heartless apprentices.**

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Chapter 2

The shock of the cold night air was quite different from the cozy warmness of the apprentice den. "Is Spiderstar serious?" I complained, slowing down and coming to a halt beside a larger, gnarled oak tree. "Meaning, we're pretty much exiled until sunup-"

"I know, right?" Eelpaw replied, stopping behind me. "Stupid Harepaw, stupid Spiderstar, stupid clan- how could the rest of the patrol not have been keeping an eye on that idiot apprentice?" He sighed. "I'm hungry, too... haven't even since this morning."

Like in response, my belly rumbled. "That old tom keeps ordering us to do stuff for him and never gives us a break," I agreed. "But if we're not allowed our share of the fresh-kill pile..." Slowly, a smile began lighting up my face. "Then we can hunt at least hunt for a while."

Eelpaw nodded in his eagerness. "Everyone would be all gathered around Harepaw's dead body, and I don't think there would be a midnight patrol tonight, so it's the perfect time. Let's go."

Standing up again, I scanned the row of undergrowth and sniffed once tentatively. The only scent was of the musty tang of many different trees, the stillness of the night, and Eelpaw himself standing beside me. "Let's go deeper into the forest," I decided, but he was already padding away.

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I stiffened. "Eelpaw," I said. "I think I just heard something."

Hunting in the dead of night for so long and catching nothing really drains your energy (and enthusiasm). But something that just sent the tip of my ear perking up, and now all my muscles were tensed up and ready for the final pounce. "It sounded like something small, like a-"

"Mouse," Eelpaw whispered, lowering his body into a crouch that mimicked mine. The leaves of the juniper bush rustled in front of us. Something squeaked near the roots, and a tiny, mottled gray shape appeared from under the branches.

I glanced at my hunting companion. His claws were unsheathed like mine and there was an utterly concentrated look to his expression that I had never seen before. Since the mouse was still under the relative shelter of the bush, I had to find a way to make it come out further, somehow...

Not knowing entirely what I was doing, I began edging along the side of the bush until I was almost behind it. Ignoring Eelpaw's questioning glance, I reached out with a nervous paw and prodded a twig right in front of me. It snapped into two, and the mouse shot out with a terrified squeal-

"Get it!" I screeched, the stealth forgotten. Startled, he lashed out with both of his paws but the furry creature dashed sideways, leaving his claws to settle in nothing but dead leaves and bracken. I hadn't expected it to scurry next towards me, so when it did-

Hissing, I tried to swat at the frightened mouse, but somehow, it dodged under both of my blows and disappeared somewhere into the undergrowth with a rustle. I growled. "That was close. _Too_ close."

Eelpaw tried to say something, maybe to agree with me, but whatever it was, his reply was cut off with a yawn. "It's really dark out now," he moaned. "I'm tired. Can we just make a nest and... sleep somewhere?"

Before I could agree, he stumbled towards me and then collapsed onto the forest floor, eyes closed. Seconds later, he started snoring.

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The next day, I heard a scuffle in the bushes again, like another small animal was scrounging around in the undergrowth. But something was different here. Instead of being a quick, quiet rustle, whatever it was in there was making a sound like it was running around and smashing into branches.

I sat up, trying to blink open my eyes. The sun was now at its topmost peak, its rays cutting through even the thickly-leafed canopy and lighting up the forest floor. Eelpaw was still snoring beside me; we must have been really tired.

Dropping instinctively into a hunting crouch, I moved forward, intent on not losing another piece of fresh-kill. If Eelpaw wasn't awake by now, then I would have to find another way. The creature sounded trapped in there, which I found strange, since there were obvious gaps in the leaves.

Regretting my decision, I pried the branch in front of me, up, and peered close into the bush.

I could see movement almost immediately. Something gray and furry was definitely scurrying around in there- but for reason, it was moving around in circles (and I wasn't even sure if it had noticed me). Something was wrong here.

I dipped my paw, claws unsheathed, into the middle of the bush. Thorns scraped the side of my front leg, and I winced. I felt something furry brush against it for a moment, and then darted away again. Hissing, I jammed my other paw into the hollow center of the bush, too, but it was too late.

By the time that I had turned around, Eelpaw was already awake and alert with unsheathed claws at the ready. The confused mouse scurried towards him, as if it didn't notice that he was there, and all but leap into his outstretched paws.

Looking up, Eelpaw licked a spot of blood from his chin. "Thanks for scaring that mouse out of the bush," he grinned.

I nodded, taking the compliment. I didn't tell him that I had been planning to get it myself. "Let's get it back to the camp. I'm sure we'll be welcomed as heroes again," I said in a joking tone. "I bet they're still crying over Harepaw."

My mood wasn't in it, though. The whole way back, I kept thinking about the mouse's strange behavior.


	4. Feeding

**I've been busy with writing something else lately (1200 words a day really drains your time to write fanfics, and that's not even counting laziness), so don't lose faith :3 Just PM me if you're getting really impatient and I'll respond, "I can't." But if you want to, PM me anyway.**

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Chapter 3

The camp was in full vigil-mode when we got back to the main clearing.

Spiderstar shot us a dirty look as we headed in through the camp entrance. Maybe we were allowed in now, or maybe still not. But I wouldn't mind another night away from the buzz of the clan (although he might have had something else in mind). Everyone was gathered in a clump around something that I couldn't see.

I pushed through the crowd, peering this way and that. I thought I knew what it was. But when I finally got to the front (cue the glares and angry mutters from all around me), I found out that they weren't gathering around Harepaw.

"Dustpaw?" I asked. Some other cats shushed me to my right. For a moment I thought he was dead, too, judging by the fact that he was lying on the ground, seemingly unmoving, but I soon realized that his eyes were open and he was breathing- heavily, by the harsh rises and falls of his chest.

Several cats were holding him down, one by each limb- I recognized Silverspark, Owlpounce, Squirreltooth, and Driftpad before someone's head blocked my view. Snowcoat, our medicine cat, was whispering something to Dustpaw, and in her jaws was a large magpie.

"Come on, eat," Snowcoat coaxed. Everyone was leaning in to listen to her words. "Eat..."

Dustpaw moaned. "I don't wanna! Harepaw feeds me food everyday. Everyone's hiding her from me!" he sobbed. "Everyone's being so mean. Only Harepaw gets to feed me. No one else! I won't eat, I won't drink, I won't sleep, I won't hunt, I won't battle train, I won't-"

"I _am_ Harepaw," Snowcoat reassured him. "Just eat this delicious, big magpie, won't you?" She pressed the piece of prey to his mouth, but he turned away. "Come on!" she hissed, getting impatient. "If you don't eat, then Mothbreeze will be upset, and you don't want to worry your mama, do you?"

Dustpaw whimpered. "Leave me alone, big bad medicine cat!" he whined. "I don't care about Mommy. I want Harepaw!"

Snowcoat gave a tortoiseshell she-cat in the back a meaningful glance. "Huh- well, I never," she replied. "Spiderstar, I don't see what we can do for your son at this rate. I think it might be best to just let him rest, muddle in his grief for a while..."

" _No!_ " Spiderstar snapped. "There has to be something. Some herb that will lessen his pain." He thought about it for a moment. "Or, just shove the prey down his throat."

Snowcoat gave him a questionable look for a moment, then leaned down and gave a forward shoving motion that I wasn't able to see too clearly. Just as I heard a gagging sound, however, I decided that I had seen enough and retreated to the back of the crowd, searching for my mentor.

Ratspeck was sitting in a ray of sunshine on the other side of the camp, licking his paws and looking up as I came to stand before him. "If you ask me," he said, "they never bothered this much when Sootpaw broke two limbs. It's always the Chasers."

"So, are we training today?" I asked with anticipation.

Ratspeck shook his head. "Nope. It's supposed to be vigil day, all day. There will only be a few small hunting patrols sent out today. Other than that, you can stay in the camp all you want. But tomorrow, we're going to be hunting a little and then guarding the camp for the rest."

Nodding, I left him to his pelt-washing and glanced back towards Dustpaw again. He was moaning every now and then, and Snowcoat would make that shoving forward motion again, so I assumed that he was still being force-fed.

The only cat who wasn't in the crowd to watch at all was Ebonypaw, Snowcoat's apprentice, who was lounging in his moss bed, staring up at the den ceiling. I stepped inside, peering around in curiosity. "Hi," I said.

Ebonypaw flicked his tail, as if in response to my greeting. "Hi." Looking over at me for the first time, he added, "I thought you were supposed to be out guarding the camp or whatever you Guarders do."

"On that, well, there's a bit of commotion going on outside," I shrugged. Somehow, having the medicine cat apprentice just wave me away like that made me feel a bit unwanted. "I think you're supposed to be out there, too. Snowcoat certainly is."

"I had her permission to stay," Ebonypaw replied, turning around again. "But anyway, I need to tell her something afterwards. Something important. It's, like, medicine cat stuff, so can you get out of the den...?" He stiffened. "Oh, hello, Snowcoat. I've something to tell you."

I turned around. Snowcoat was looking exhausted. "Hm?" she asked, stepping in and giving her shoulder a quick lick.

Ebonypaw took a deep breath. "Furzepaw, get out," he commanded. Feeling definitely left out now, I sighed, heading out of the den as Snowcoat's fluffy white fur filled up the entire entrance. Ebonypaw whispered something to his mentor, and they both padded to the back of the den.

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That evening, Snowcoat was in higher spirits than I'd ever seen her in before. She was heading for the camp entrance, and when asked where she was going, she just replied, "To the pine forest in the west. I have something important to do. I think it might benefit Dustpaw."

Then, she left. She didn't return the next day. Or the next.

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 **Review! I love the reviews!**


	5. Sending

**Remember to review! I'm looking at you. No, really. I check my views count :3 But anyway, review! (Did I already say that?)**

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Chapter 4

Several days later, we were back in training and (mostly) everyone pretended that nothing had happened at all. Ratspeck took me out to try to hunt a little. "It can't hurt to bring up the fresh-kill pile a bit," he shrugged, sending me on my way. "I'll be following you around and inspecting you."

But the whole time, I wasn't really hunting (which made me hope that he wasn't really checking up on me). By the time I had padded a few tail-lengths out of the camp, something rustled in the underbrush and I turned around slowly, hoping for a mouse or squirrel.

It was Eelpaw. He was standing in front of a large oak tree, tail swishing the ferns before him, as if he was waiting for me the whole time. "Hey!" he hissed. "Come over here! I have an idea of how to investigate!"

I hopped down by his side. "Investigation?" I asked. "Investigation about what?"

He looked at me as if I had grown an extra ear (which I was far from, but I had almost _lost_ an ear the last time I tried to stuff poppy seeds into his shrew). "Investigation about Snowcoat, of course!" he meowed. "I don't know what's gotten into you today! I thought you would be thinking about it all the time."

I scratched my head with my hind right paw. "I was just kidding," I shrugged. "I knew what you were talking about. But what's your plan?"

Eelpaw grinned. He leaned forward, his tail flicking in anticipation as if he had been waiting me to ask that the whole time. "So, since Snowcoat said that she's going to the west, to the pine forest, I'm guessing that's the place where we're not supposed to go, right?"

"I suppose..." I replied. "But you're the one saying everything, not me, so."

Ignoring me, Eelpaw continued, "I've been sort of wondering about that place for a long time. For as long as I know it, no one in our clan has gone into the pine forest. Snowcoat said she was getting a cure for Dustpaw or whatever, and I think she might have gotten herself into trouble."

"Of course Snowcoat got into trouble," I sighed in exasperation. "So what's your point?"

Eelpaw glared at me. "My point is that we need to go find out more. Remember the thing about investigating I said earlier? I want to go in there and find out more. Maybe with you, too, if you want to go. It's going to be fun. I'm pretty sure we'll be back by dawn tomorrow at the latest."

"Um..." I tried to think of the best way to tell him that this wasn't exactly the best idea he ever had- and then, a memory surfaced from the back of the my head. "I think it might really be dangerous in there."

Eelpaw snorted. "Dangerous? Obviously. That's why it's forbidden to us apprentices, which makes it even more fun."

"No, I mean, I have actual evidence," I insisted. "I think I do, anyway. Listen." I quickly explained to him about the morning after our night in exile, where I had found a mouse running around in the inside of a hollow bush, seemingly gone out of its mind. "It might have been in that forest before or something."

I got nothing back but a stare. "This is why we're always even with each other," Eelpaw grumbled. "How is that even a piece of evidence? For all you know, that mouse might have just gotten too much catmint." He stopped, as if in thought. "Or mousemint. I hope that actually exists."

"No, it doesn't," I replied, "which is why I think my theory is correct... or at least has a chance of being correct, anyway."

Eelpaw sighed. "No matter what you say, I'm still going in there," he retorted. "Nothing you can do to stop that. But I guess I'll just have to take a little extra precaution out there." Glancing at me, he added, "So I guess I'm alone now?"

I was about to nod, when suddenly, I got an idea.

"Hold on," I interrupted. "So, since all we need is more information... then why does it have to be the pair of us that's going?" Eelpaw gave me a blank look, as if he couldn't quite catch up to what I was saying here. "Look, I'm not saying that we should do it, since I really recommend against _anyone_ going..."

Just as I thought he was about to give up, his head suddenly jerked forward and a bright gleam filled his hazel eyes. "I know what to do now!" he exclaimed, turning around and bounding for the camp.

Sadly, I did not dwell long on the assumption that he was excited because he wanted to go curl up in his nest; I followed a bit more slowly, wondering what in StarClan he could possibly have gotten him in such a mood.

I heard someone moaning in complaint as soon as I reached the camp entrance. It definitely wasn't Eelpaw- he never moaned- and it didn't sound like one of the warriors, so it didn't take me long to identify the voice as Dustpaw's. I stared. "How is _he_ going to help?"

"I thought you said that we could use someone else instead of us!" Eelpaw explained, smiling at me. Dustpaw was wandering around in the area outside of the camp entrance, tripping over his own paws once in a while and mumbling something about Harepaw.

I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for Dustpaw. "But... isn't that a bit cruel?" I asked. "Forget it. Just forget it. How about you go in yourself, leaving me behind, or better, just not go at all? Besides, if anyone sees you leading him-"

"Nah, I'm not going to lead him anywhere," Eelpaw grinned. "Besides... if something does happen to him, like that poor mouse..." He hesitated. "He's not in the best condition anyway, so I suppose that's fine."

Looking into his eyes, I was a bit disturbed. "Fine- say that I agree," I said. "But how are you going to... oh."

"Harepaw is in the pine forest, waiting for you!" Eelpaw hissed into Dustpaw's ear. Immediately, he stopped his pacing and looked up at him blankly but with a new, hopeful sparkle in his eyes. "She's been searching for you for days! Remember, the pine forest! Just follow the setting sun!"

I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could, Eelpaw grinned. "Now we just have to wait."


	6. Fighting

**Important:** **I realized today that I made quite a few cliffhangers in Hymn of the River that were never continued on from (which is a downside to cliffhangers), so this chapter is going to cover all of those as well as the main story in this book. So, it's going to be quite long.**

 **This chapter will include: Furzepaw! Eelpaw! Cedarpaw! Dustpaw! Spider! Hiss! Mistflame! Creekstar! Leaf! RiverClan cats! New characters! Brightpool! Coconut! (Remember him?) Sparrowchirp! Oh... gods, how am I going to fit them all in?**

 **I don't even remember what the cliffhangers were about in half of them! Thank goodness I have a HotR tab out open (for reference).**

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Chapter 5

Cedarpaw didn't know where he was going.

He didn't think that any of his clanmates knew, either. Except for Stormwing, who was marching along at the head of the whole group. The two guards at both sides of Cedarpaw didn't seem threatening or menacing, just confused, and that was the general atmosphere in the air for about an hour.

Soon, the forest got darker and darker until no rays of sunlight slit through the branches overhead anymore. Quietripple was the only one that even glanced at Cedarpaw once in a while, as if looking at him was contagious. Finally, just as his paw twisted on a rock for the sixth time, his patience snapped with it.

"Is there anywhere in particular we're going to?" Cedarpaw asked helpfully. One of the guards by his side shoved him in the flank. Stormwing didn't answer. He seemed too preoccupied with staring at the trees in front of him to notice.

Something cracked in the undergrowth to the left of Cedarpaw, and it wasn't his ankle his time.

Now a few of the group were starting to slow down, glancing around themselves every once in a while and muttering something about ghosts. Cedarpaw half expected Stormwing to turn around and bark at them to hurry up and keep going, but to his surprise, he stopped too.

Suddenly, a gray and ginger blur raced out from a patch of juniper shrubs and came to a stop in front of the director. It was a she-cat, about apprentice age but younger than Cedarpaw. He was a little alarmed to see the long, bloody gash running from her forehead to her neck. "I've got her!" she announced.

"Thank you, Little Pond," Stormwing said politely, dipping his head. "I think we can handle it from now on. Come out."

"Hm? Oh, _where_ have you led me to, Glowpaw?" another she-cat asked, poking her head out from behind a leaning tree. Her eyes traveled from the gray and ginger she-cat to the rest of RiverClan, and instantly, she gasped.

Before Cedarpaw knew it, she ran into one of the guards surrounding him and was soon burying her face into his fur, whimpering and murmuring something that he couldn't hear. The guard looked surprised, and didn't seem able to pry the she-cat off.

Just when the awkwardness was at its peak, the she-cat finally raised her head. "Thank you all for being my saviors!" she squealed. "I was running around in the forest not following anyone but my adopted daughter and then I just stumbled upon you! Help me!"

Stormwing seemed a bit overwhelmed, glancing at the gray and ginger she-cat with the head wound again. "Little Pond, I said you could come out now," he snapped, sounding a bit irritated. Moments later, something misty drifted out of the her body.

Her eyes glassed over again and the second she-cat was clearly trying to suppress a scream. "Glowpaw?" she muttered as the body toppled downwards onto the ground. "Is this a-"

Stormwing's eyes gleamed. "Survivor of the LightClan battle, huh?" he chuckled. "Must be a strong one, then. Might be a good candidate." He began pacing around her like a predator examining its prey. "So, what's your name, darling?"

Now she was looking at him with a bit more uncertainty than before. "Sparrowchirp," she finally responded, "loyal warrior of LightClan. Stop looking at me like that, it's creeping me out." She squirmed under his gaze. "Uh, so... is this your group of rogues?"

"Of course there are other clans besides your precious LightClan!" Stormwing snapped, then lowered his voice as if realizing that it might scare her. "Listen, we're taking you to a... safe place. If you wanted a savior, then you're got one."

Sparrowchirp was nodding along after each statement. Cedarpaw realized with a chill that she still trusted him. "Great!" she exclaimed. "So do we have to go further? Do you Wanderers have a camp?"

"Oh, we've definitely got one," Stormwing laughed, as if the question was ridiculous. "Just keep with us, alright? Stragglers never survive long in this forest." He smiled. "Unless you're already dead. I'm sure you would be meeting some of my companions soon."

* * *

Sparrowchirp seemed a bit more nervous after that, glancing around every once in a while as if expecting to find a spirit staring at her from behind every tree. Eventually, though, the terrain got steeper and steeper, the forest started to disappear, and the slope edged downwards to the bottom of a gorge.

"Here we are!" Stormwing said cheerfully. "I know it's not that fancy, but it fits our needs." He glanced around. "Jaggedfeather!"

Cedarpaw narrowed his eyes. He thought his mentor had been killed by a badger or whatnot, but he found it a little hard to believe that Jaggedfeather was now a wandering spirit. Sure enough, though, a pale gray ghost peered out from the middle of the clearing, apparently appearing out of nowhere.

"I've got a surprise for you," Stormwing said, flicking his tail towards Sparrowchirp.

The spirit Jaggedfeather glanced at her with hesitation. "She doesn't look extremely sturdy to me. I mean, I would have expected someone larger, more powerful, more..." He scratched his head, as if searching for the right word. "Large-powerful."

"She's fine, I'm sure," Stormwing replied. "She survived the battle in LightClan, so it must be worth a try. Honestly, what do we have to lose? Just do it."

Cedarpaw was starting to understand what was going on, but before he could protest, Jaggedfeather bowed his head and drifted over to Sparrowchirp. She glared up at him. "Can I... go now? I don't feel like doing whatever you're-"

Suddenly, she tensed, clenching her teeth and hissing as Jaggedfeather's spirit first dissipated into fine mist, then seemed to absorb into her fur. Cedarpaw knew what it felt like, and promptly felt sorry for her. Stormwing cleared his throat. "Not full control," he commanded, "we need to hear her speak."

"Two become one or something in that prophecy," Cedarpaw muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, Sparrowchirp's bright eyes had now dulled into a blue-gray. She seemed to be struggling at first, then settled back after a few moments of no success. "Can I leave now?" she asked again, chattering her teeth. It was her voice, but not hers, at the same time.

Stormwing leveled his gaze on hers. "Not right now," he replied softly. "First, we need to run you through some trials. Let's see if this works this time. Now, answer me." He paused. "Do you feel stronger in any way when Jaggedfeather's spirit connected with you?"

"Colder," Sparrowchirp shivered. " _Can I go now?_ "

"Fight me first," Stormwing whispered, lowering his body into a fighting stance. Cedarpaw felt he suddenly understood why Jaggedfeather had constantly come back to camp at night with strange scars and wounds. He must have been involved in this for a long time. "I need to see if you are strong enough."

"I don't-" Sparrowchirp began, but before she could say another word, Stormwing flung him into the air and pummeled her to the ground, all four paws knocking her down and jaws bared at her throat. "I'm an enemy, about to kill you," he hissed, "so what do you do now?"

Sparrowchirp fell limp underneath his paws. Stormwing chuckled, still keeping his whole body weight on her. "Honestly, I didn't think you would resort to such an overused trick."

The whole clan waited for her to retaliate, while Stormwing dug his claws in deeper and began closing his jaws on Sparrowchirp's throat- all in slow motion, while he watched her carefully, hoping for a comeback. Blood oozed from several wounds, painting the grass scarlet, and finally, he let go.

Still, Sparrowchirp didn't get up. Cedarpaw didn't know if she was dead or just unconscious. Stormwing sighed. "That was disappointing," he meowed. "It looks like our attempts have failed again." Suddenly, his gaze swept upwards towards Cedarpaw.

"But before we end... Cedarpaw, will you please come up to be our next champion?"

* * *

 **I lied... heh. But I'm sorry, I couldn't jam all those perspectives together without ruining the chapter. So there you go, I thought I would need to fill you in on Cedarpaw a little. Notice: the next few chapters will probably be cutscene chapters...**


	7. Note

**I'm going to the East Coast for more than a week, sorry for the wait, gonna be right back with a fresh new chapter after vacation. I'll try to update while on the road ;-;**

-Storm


	8. Trying

**Update on the road! I know you guys are expecting quick updates from me, but the chapters will just have to come slower from now on until I stop being lazy and I get the chance. (I know... even slower than once every five days? Impossible.)**

 **This chapter: Hiss Fails at Math! Spider Becomes Hiss's Highly Entertaining New Pet! I Better Not Spoil Even More!**

* * *

Chapter 6

Spider hissed in surprise, not getting the chance to retaliate before Hiss swiped at her quickly with his unsheathed claws. Trickles of blood fell from a new scratch on her cheek. _I didn't even get to learn how to fight as an apprentice!_ She brought out her claws, too, although she wasn't entirely sure how to use them.

The misty she-spirit beside her didn't interfere, as if she already knew what the outcome would be. Spider gritted her teeth, trying to hold her ground. "Here's a question," Hiss said, eyeing her up and down as if trying to decide the best spot to attack next, "what is one plus zero?"

Thinking that was a rather strange question to ask, and also partly suspicious that he was just trying to distract her, Spider responded carefully, "One."

"That is indefinitely _wrong!_ " Hiss roared, suddenly lashing out at her with both paws. Two more scratches left their mark on her flank. She _really_ needed to get better at this. "The answer is three _!_ Zero plus one equals _three_! Do you want to know the reasoning behind that?"

Right at the moment, all Spider wanted to know was how to defeat an opponent a hundred times older and stronger than herself. "Uh, no."

"Imagine that every single _one_ is a condensed, heated bundle of hate," Hiss explained. Spider was having a rather hard time envisioning that. "One, plus zero, which represents hope, is three. Remember that, _kit._ Hope brings you twice the hate that true hate ever will."

Just then, Hiss really did pounce. Spider was ready this time, but for some reason, her legs wouldn't run away and instead stayed in place, buckling under her as his weight pinned her down. Claws were at her throat in an instant. "Remember that as you fade away forever."

Spider's vision was starting to turn to black. For some reason, even as her brain cells felt the desperate urge to explode and her chest seemed to be pressed in from everywhere at once, all her mind would focus on was a leaf, fluttering in the wind. She had to catch it, she just had to-

"Leafy!" Spider squealed with the little air she had left.

Hiss frowned, as if suspecting this was some sort of trick. His paws lifted off from her throat just a little bit, so that she could breathe in again, although his hind legs were still pressed on hers. "Excuse me?" If this was a distraction, then it definitely worked.

Spider didn't seem too keen on trying to escape just yet, though. Her eyes were still glassy and widened to their full extent, as if by popping out her eyes she could get more air into her lungs. "Leafy, leafio, come to me!"

Now Hiss was trying to hide the amusement in his tone. "Huh," he said, stepping off of her. Maybe him strangling her had short-circuited her brain or something. Suddenly, he wondered if he could stand to play around with her a little more... "The leaf is over there," he said.

Flicking his tail in a random direction, he watched as Spider got up on all fours and began bounding off to sniff at a dead bush growing out of the ground. "Dead leafios," she complained. "More leafies! Me want more leafies! No dead leavios. Non-dead leaf."

Hiss started chuckling. "Oh, I'll find you some leaves," he said, turning around. She began chasing her tail and running around in circles seemingly tirelessly, screeching in happiness every time she nipped her own fur. "For right now, I just need to go hunt. I'm awfully hungry..."

The moment he turned tails and disappeared through the undergrowth, Spider dropped to the ground with exhaustion, heaving for breath and occasionally glancing back at the spot where Hiss had been just a few moments before. "Good thing I thought of that."

The misty she-spirit had been hovering there in the air, watching silently the whole time. Now her eyes were lit up a little more with something that seemed like amusement, and she said, "I have to admit, that was clever. He'll keep you alive for as long as you keep him entertained."

"Great," Spider groaned, still unable to get up. She found her eyes closing and her mind wanting to drift off to sleep, but she kept herself awake for a little while longer. Since she was a spirit now, maybe she could try to contact the living? Maybe they could help her somehow?

She thought about her choices, flitting from one thought to the next as if looking for something in particular. Flutterpaw was her first consideration, but she quickly wiped it away. She was dead, and she didn't know if spirits could contact other spirits. There was also Sparrowchirp, but...

Spider decided that her adopted mom would have to be the best choice. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on her image as clearly as possible. The brown tabby fur, the cold yellow eyes, the sadness behind them...

Nothing. Nothing but vague blankness back. Spider opened her eyes again, breathing hard for some reason. There was something wrong. Something really wrong, something that she couldn't decipher... "Sparrowchirp," she hissed under her breath.

Suddenly, something sparked inside her mind and a brief flash of light filled her vision... before all fell to darkness again. "Sparrowchirp," Spider whispered, more urgently this time. "Is that you? Help me, I'm going to die..."

 _I think I'm already dead,_ Sparrowchirp moaned from somewhere in Spider's own mind (which was creepy). _I don't know why I'm talking to myself, also._

"No, you're not talking to yourself, you're talking to _me,_ " Spider corrected, trying to keep her mother's image in place. "Listen, I sort of need help here-"

Her claws struggled to harness themselves into Sparrowchirp's fur, but before she could, her vision faded away and all that was left was nothing. No spark. No sudden flash of light. No something, no nothing... no signals anywhere...

* * *

 **This is me every time I try to go onto FFN on my mom's phone during a road trip :P I feel you, Spider.**

 **Reviews make me happy! Make me happy! Me happy! Happy!**

 **(That was impressive. Each one of those sentence fragments made sense on their own.)**


	9. Remembering

**Back from the East Coast! :D If any of you guys read Percy Jackson, then here is an announcement: I'm going to be making my first fanfic of that soon! I haven't decided on the title by now, just keep an eye on my profile every now and then.**

* * *

Chapter 7

Leaf stopped running when he realized that the outraged kittypet wasn't on his trail anymore... or at least he thought so until _something_ pounced onto him from behind. Having had been ambushed enough times in a single day already, he shook her off angrily with a kick just for good measures.

"It's none of your business what I'm doing in RiverClan, _kittypet_ ," Leaf hissed, turning around.

Mistflame cocked her head to one side, as if in deep thought. "Huh... and I thought I used to be part of RiverClan. Strange, isn't it? Maybe I had amnesia. Or déjà vu." She suddenly gasped mockingly. "Oh, right, I _was_ once RiverClan. So tell me, what's so wrong about defending my own territory?"

Leaf wasn't in the mood for this kind of conversation. "I'm sure your clanmates won't be pleased that you're fighting off an intruder without telling them," he said. "I'll go to them and tell them you were trying to murder a poor passerby."

Then, without waiting for her to respond, he turned around and bolted for the direction of the RiverClan camp.

* * *

It was abandoned.

There was fresh scent, but there were so many different ones tracing around in all different directions that Leaf was having a hard time picking out a specific trail to follow. _Later,_ he told himself. First, investigate what's right in front of you.

He kept glancing back in the direction of a small mountain in the distance, dotted with thickly-leafed pines and spruces, although he didn't know why. It just seemed so... tempting for some reason.

Sniffing the air once again, Leaf realized that there was somewhere else among all the cat scents... _prey_ scent. Bird scent, to be exact, and right in the camp. His stomach was growling, so, crouching low and following the teasing aroma, he unsheathed his claws.

It wasn't long before he found the source: a small blue jaybird trapped beneath a pile of branches, fluttering its wings feverishly even though there were several gaps in the sticks where it could easily escape. Leaf wanted to kill it right then and there, but something stopped him.

The jaybird reminded him of something. Déjà vu... wasn't that what that kittypet had said? He was getting it alright. Leaf had seen something like this before, just not that he could remember, or maybe he just didn't experience it in _this_ life...

Instead of slashing apart the jay's throat, Leaf carefully pried loose a small branch to the side so that a large opening gaped right in front of the bird; almost immediately, it zoomed out of its enclosure, wings beating so fast it looked like a hummingbird and flew away into the morning sky.

Then, Leaf finally remembered.

He had been in a forest where it was always dusk, where a large ragtag group of cats stood behind him, all chuckling and flicking their tails towards something in the front. It was the first time nearly all of the residents of the forest had come together as one.

There had been a sparrow... no, a lot of sparrows, actually, clustered together and trying to nudge closer to the cats even as they unsheathed their claws and ripped their throats out one by one. They hadn't seen such good prey in a long while. It was like the birds were attracted to something.

Spirits.

That's what they were attracted to.

Large groups of spirits.

Especially _powerful_ ones; the ancient ones, the ones much, much older than StarClan and those with hearts turned cold over time...

Leaf watched with interest as the jay disappeared into the distance... to that same mountain he had been staring at earlier. There had to be something powerful stirring beneath those trees, a _lot_ of powerful somethings. He had experience with that.

Remembering the first time he went out into the territory with Glowpaw, he had been attracted to the trees by the border for some reason. Now he knew. It reminded him of home. Of a home he once had, and the moor never brought that same feeling to him.

"Tigerclaw," Leaf muttered. "I'm Tigerclaw."

* * *

"The prey has been running pretty well in such a cold season," Frozenpond reported, blushing slightly as she did so. She was _always_ blushing, I noted. "Our patrol members caught like three pieces each... we're going to have a feast tonight."

"Thank you," Spiderstar said, dipping his head (but not before sneaking several glares in my direction). "It must be StarClan's will that we are doing so well in leaf-bare. I hope we have pleased them."

Eelpaw nudged me from behind. "I'm getting kind of worried about what Dustpaw's doing now," he whispered. "It's morning. He really should be back by now. I think we should check up on him." He seemed excited about that. "I bet he's run into trouble."

"Eelpaw, we haven't even given him directions to _return,_ " I remembered. "I bet he's chilling out in a clearing with a bunch of hot she-cats right now. But anyway, if we're going to do anything, I'd better eat up first. I'm starving."

I didn't wait for him to reply. Heading over to the fresh-kill pile, my eyes widened. It had grown to nearly five times the size it was the day before. Most of the prey had their eyes still open, staring at me with that glassy look, which I found slightly disturbing, but come on, I was hungry-

Suddenly, I caught a flicker of movement somewhere beneath the pile.

I blinked. There was definitely something underneath. Digging through the pile at record speed, tossing pieces of prey aside, I suffered a few complaints and curses from the cats below before finally finding what I had saw: a bluejay.

How it was still alive with a gash running clean down its neck to its tail, I didn't know, but as soon as it saw daylight, it fluttered its wings feebly for a few moments before zipping out the camp entrance.

"Hey!" I yelled.

Spiderstar shouted something at me that I couldn't hear, and the next thing I knew, I was running out after the bird with my heart pounding.


	10. Promising

**It's hot over here right now. Like, really hot. *wipes sweat off brow* I was drawing some dragons, but wasn't in the mood for it, so I came here. (I know you're all cheering right now wherever you are and going like, " Storm, we love your fanfic! More chapters!" ...No?)**

* * *

Chapter 8

The jay was flying by so fast that I could barely keep it in my field of vision, much less catch up with it. "Hold up!" I yelled, stumbling over a rock and stretching my neck as far as it would go (as if that would help). How was this thing going so fast when it must have been like, half dead?

Minutes later, I finally found it. There was a line of boulders blocking a small forest clearing from the rest of the woods beyond, and the bird was trying to nudge right through them. I figured it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so I found the time to catch my breath before hurrying over to the jay.

"Going somewhere?" I asked it, glancing up at the forested mountain in front of it.

The jaybird was still nudging its head towards the solid rock and bumping it constantly, so I swiped a paw between the two before it could kill itself any more. I sort of wanted to just end its obvious suffering right then and there, but I decided that it kinda cute. Maybe I could release it somewhere far, far away.

"Furzepaw!" Eelpaw's voice called out behind me. I ignored him. Sinking my teeth into the jay's back lightly, its wings and tail kept fluttering rapidly as I tried to suppress my gag reflex from acting on the feathers in my mouth. Then, I began running away.

I wasn't quite sure where I was running off to. Eelpaw didn't try to call for me again, nor did he show up and offer any great advice, although the jay's struggles grew more and more feeble as the distance between me and the mountain increased. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Soon, as even the camp disappeared behind me, I finally stopped to catch my breath. In front of me was a small shadowed crevasse in the ground, surrounded by bushes and tall trees at one end. I peered down it. It seemed to extend into a tunnel that went on for quite a while, but...

Pushing a good-sized rock into the hole, I watched it tumble down for a bit before getting lodged about half a tail-length down. I nudged it. It didn't move.

"This is your new home," I told the jay, dropping it gently into the blocked tunnel. It turned around and around for a while, as if trying to locate the mountain again, but soon gave up and slumped against the side.

I knew I should probably have released it somewhere deeper into the forest, but for some reason I really wanted to keep it. Not knowing what jays ate, my eyes zeroed in on a clump of fresh grass and nudged the patch down into the tunnel. The bird only glared at me.

That was when I finally noticed that one of its wings seemed crooked, as if bent out of place. I didn't know if that meant it wouldn't be able to fly anymore, but, not taking any chances, I snapped off the branch of a nearby bush and placed it on the entrance of the tunnel.

"Furzepaw, I'm serious!" Eelpaw shouted again.

 _I'll give you some beetles or something when I come back for you,_ I told the jay silently, then turned around and started running towards his voice.

* * *

The next time Brightpool woke up, the cave was eerily silent. Coconut wasn't there. Neither were Scream and the other tom who'd entered earlier. No, scratch that- there was someone beside her. Someone that she didn't see, but instead _sensed._ She quickly got up into a sitting position.

There, right by her side, was a small brown tom with his furry tail over his paws. "Who-" Brightpool started.

"They left you to sleep here," the tom whispered, cutting her off. "I waited until the timing was convenient before I dared come in here. Like them, I sense that you would do well in aiding me. Unlike them, I have far more valuable resources than a legion of fools."

Coconut seemed like a sensible tom to her, Brightpool thought. "They don't seem like fools to me, and what they said made sense. I mean, don't you ever feel that the world is always finding a way to blame you? That-"

"I've heard that already," the tom snapped. "They work for Hiss, making up some angst story and expecting everyone to be all on eyes and ears. They make it seem like _changing the world_ is so easy. They don't understand half of what's really going on out there."

"So what _is_ going on out there?" Brightpool asked, irritated. "If you know so much."

The tom considered that for a moment. "Lots," he finally replied, to her annoyance. "I've got someplace I want to show you. Maybe we'll understand each other better then. Come on, before they come back in here."

"Hold on!" Brightpool protested. "I don't even know your name! I don't know the first thing about you, and you probably don't even know who I am, either. If you think I'm going to be as gullible as to just follow you around everywhere- I'm now completely _sick_ of constantly changing sides, by the way-"

"My way involves much less bloodshed," the tom promised, "and that's no lie."

Brightpool huffed. "Huh. I get the pattern now. So, first, you promise me a bunch of things that you won't keep. Then, you tell me that your plan involves killing a bunch of innocent cats so you can reach your goal of a peaceful and happy world or whatever."

"There will absolutely be no killing, I promise," the tom said, his calm pale eyes level with hers. "Unless it's _really, really_ necessary."

"How can you be so sure?" Brightpool asked, staring out into the dark tunnel that led into the cave. What was out there at the other end? "Besides, I don't want to get caught. I won't able to look at Coconut's disappointed face if he... if he sees me betraying him so soon..."

The tom smiled.

Near the other end of the tunnel, moonlight shone against hard stone, light against dark; as the night bore on, the shine creeped closer and closer in, and just outside, storm clouds flitted closer to the moon, covering the stars as if chasing the light.

"Because it's not lives I want.

It's _souls."_

* * *

 **Review.**


	11. Finding

**I'm obsessed with reading Hetalia fanfics right now, so apologies if my chapters aren't coming on time. The only way I could convince myself to write this chapter was by giving myself a reward of reading a chapter every two hundred words I get done.**

* * *

Chapter 9

Eelpaw was standing on a tall hill overlooking the forested mountain, giving me a grin as I padded up to him. "I'm going off to look for lil' Dustpaw!" he exclaimed. "I'm fed up with waiting. Coming or not?" In any case, he didn't give me time to respond. Eelpaw bolted down the crest of the hill and disappeared.

I followed, sighing, hoping the bird would be doing fine until I got back. Jays could go for longer than a day or so without starving, right?

"I'll head back to the camp by evening, whether you're coming with me or not," I told him. "Spiderstar could send out out a patrol to find him if he hasn't already, and we'll just say we had no idea how he vanished and we didn't have anything to do with it."

Eelpaw glanced back at me. "Furzepaw, you're talking like Dustpaw is not a cat. I mean, his mind is sorta foggy right now, but he can just... tell..."

"Then I'll blame it all on you," I replied calmly. "It's that simple."

* * *

Despite the branches blocking the sky overhead, it was still midday and sunlight shone cheerily down onto the ground below. It didn't seem to be quite the right mood for six-moon old apprentices like Dustpaw to get into deep trouble.

Maybe if Eelpaw hadn't tried to chase after that rabbit, we wouldn't have ended up in that clearing. But of course, because he was Eelpaw, he took one look at the bundle of joy and nearly fell head over heels trying to sink his claws into its flesh. "See you!" he shouted, bounding after the rabbit.

I didn't bother trying to follow him. The scent of Dustpaw was just getting thicker and clearer, and I wasn't planning to lose it anytime soon. I figured Eelpaw could handle himself, come back to me panting and rabbit-less a bit while later.

Just then, the trail stopped.

I sniffed. No, I was wrong, it didn't stop entirely, it was just concealed so thickly by other scents that I could barely make it out... Stopping in my tracks, I sniffed again to make sure that it wasn't a trick. No, there were definitely cats that had went this way earlier, lots of them, and they were heading towards-

Someone screamed in the distance. (It sounded an awful lot like Eelpaw.) Sighing, I turned my back on the trail. "Eelpaw? What's going on?"

Before I could say anything more, something heavy dropped on top of my head and I reeled backwards, the pain making me feel completely dizzy. It was several moments later that I realized that a stone had just dropped from the sky out of nowhere and _hit me._

"Eelpaw," I muttered, trying to regain my balance, "I swear, if it's you-"

Several more stones dropped down onto the ground next to me. "Oi, Gingerbread!" someone's cheerful voice called out. Before I had time to react, the leaves above me rustled and something that looked like a shapeless black mound of fur leaped down from the branches.

Eelpaw stumbled out from the trees, glancing nervously at the new cat who had appeared. "Uh... sorry, you startled me," he said to her, gulping.

The black fur near the front parted to reveal a small white head that peered out curiously. "Sorry, the rug keeps covering everything," she apologized. " 'Ello, Gingerbread and Caterpillar!"

I glanced at Eelpaw questionably. "Do you... know this she-cat?"

"No," he said, still glancing back and forth frantically between me and the new arrival. "I was chasing the rabbit and then it disappeared down a hole in some tree roots, and I poked my head down there and then someone dropped a bunch of rocks on me." He shuddered. "Terrifying."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but we do have to deal with intruders accordingly, right?" the she-cat beamed. "By the way, call me Cakey! Or Cake. Or Cae." She lifted her tail up in the air and showed off the black pelt on her back. "Now that I think about it, you weren't the only intruders in the last few days..."

I stared incredulously at her. "Hold on, you belong to a..." I searched for the right word. "Group? But your name is all weird..." Deciding to ask a question that had been pressing in at my mind, I said, "Did you skin a cat to get that pelt?"

"Huh?" Cakey looked absolutely horrified at this. "No! It's not even real fur. The rug came from that department store a few miles away! This lady was heading out with it and I sorta just snagged it." She shrugged, twirling around. "She was practically asking for it. It looks great on me, right?"

I couldn't understand half the things she was saying. "Okay," I said finally. "But how do you know all those weird terms?"

"Huh... weird terms?" Now Cakey's expression was downright offended. "Excuse me, it's common knowledge among my group. But anyway, I gotta go. My, uh... leader's gonna be worried." She straightened up. "Prey's been a bit scarce these days. I need to go see if I can steal anything else..."

"This chic's crazy," Eelpaw whispered in my ear. There was a wild, almost scared look in his eyes, one that I had never seen on his face before. " Now let's go find Dustpaw and get out of here."

* * *

 **Next chapter, Furzepaw and Eelpaw do... interesting stuff. Sorry if this chapter seemed rushed, I really wasn't in the mood for writing today...**


	12. Longing

**First time I've ever came out late with a chapter! It feels like only four days ago that I wrote the last one. Oh gosh, I'm one day behind schedule, my inner conscience is hitting me over the head with Miss Hungary's frying pan (Hetalia reference).**

* * *

Chapter 10

Eelpaw and I didn't get far before Cakey said, "Leaving so soon?" She sounded relieved for some reason. "My group doesn't like intruders, actually. It's probably best if you get out of here as soon as possible. See ya both soon, Gingerbread and Caterpillar!" She winked.

I figured that we'd better hurry up and leave before she called me that ridiculous name again. "Right," I said, nudging Eelpaw in the opposite direction. "It's been a nice time, gotta go..." Then with that, we turned around and ran through the forest as fast as we could.

Soon, the moment Cakey disappeared from view, I stopped in my tracks and starting heaving for breath. "I don't know why, but she creeps me out," I said, shuddering. Seeing Eelpaw's expression, I added, "Hey... it seems like she freaked you out, too."

He glared at me. "I don't get 'freaked out'. It's just something that she said..." He shook his head. "It's weird, about the department store..." Eelpaw glanced up at me, and forced promptly forced one of his trademark grins onto his face. "Never mind. None of that matters, 'cause we have a Dustpaw to rescue."

I nodded, although for the rest of the time we spent padding through the forest, I tried to stay a few tail-lengths further away from him.

* * *

Cedarpaw gritted his teeth. _Think of something inspirational,_ he thought as he faced off against Stormwing (who was glaring at him from across the clearing). _Some_ one _heroic..._ The only cat he could think of at the moment was, for some reason, Doerunner, that ginger she-cat whom he'd hardly ever talked to.

Strangely, it was also a sand-colored cat who came to his rescue.

The bushes rustled beside them, and Cedarpaw couldn't help but look; a pale ginger tom stumbled into the clearing with a dazed look in his eyes, darting wildly from direction to direction as if searching for something... or someone. He ducked lower, but thankfully, he didn't seem to be looking for him.

Stormwing glanced at the newcomer with clear annoyance. "No one interrupts me - no one," he hissed.

The ginger tom didn't seem to notice. His eyes searched all throughout the crowd, but disappointment clouded over them when he apparently couldn't find who he was looking for. He finally turned to Stormwing. "No one speaks like that to me except Harepaw," he said; "are you Harepaw?"

Stormwing didn't seem to know how to respond, but just before he finally opened his mouth, the other tom sprang to his paws and pounced - right at the leader. He hardly had time to react before he was met by a pummel of soft paws, and right then and there, he screamed.

"That's Harepaw all right," the sand-colored tom confirmed happily. "No one else has a scream that shrill."

Brambletail rose to his paws, unsheathing his claws and growling, and Cedarpaw decided he had better get out of here before the attention bounced back to him. He glanced at the menacing forest beyond, and for some reason, he was longing for someone else's company, anyone, everything...

Cedarpaw glanced toward the limp body of Sparrowchirp. He didn't know if Jaggedfeather's spirit had already gone out of her or not, and she might already be dead for all he knew, but still... it was the only cat he could bring along.

He tried to look for Quietripple in the crowd, but more and more heads struggled to make their way above each other. Cedarpaw couldn't take the risk. Gripping her scruff in his teeth gently, he turned around and quickly, as quietly as possible, made his way to the edge of the clearing.

No one noticed him. So naturally, he didn't notice the sound of footsteps pounding toward him either.

* * *

Cakey slipped into the shadows of the den, heart sinking, wondering how she was going to pull it off this time. Copper was waiting for her, glaring, his teeth bared. "Don't tell me you didn't find anything today, either," he growled.

"Nope," Cakey said casually. "Nothing!" Inside, she felt like she was going to burst. The only time she ever had a break from him was when she went out on her patrols, but every single day... "I found nothing. Good enough, darling?"

Copper sniffed. "I can sense your lies, you know. Rosemary, I know you're lying." He unsheathed his claws. "Both of us know how much I need it. How much I depend on you. Do you even _care?_ " His voice reaching a crescendo, Copper crouched down into position and pounced.

Cakey batted him away with a single paw, rendering him unsteady. This happened nearly every single time they met. It wasn't that she was a good fighter, it was just that Copper couldn't fight at all. "Don't. Just don't."

Still snarling, Copper resumed glaring at her from the other end of the den. But suddenly, as if changing his mind, he relaxed, the tensed muscles settling down, Padding over to her, he whispered, "Rosemary, no matter what happens, I'll still stay your faithful mate."

"Okay, dear," Cakey sighed, turning away. He did _that_ every time, too.

Outside, the breeze was cold as it swept into her face, and she blinked, turning towards the woods at the edge of the clearing. They seemed so sad, so lonely, so longing for _company._ She started running, sneaking behind the dens like she used to when she was younger. Branches and leaves closed over her head, but slowly and surely, the forest began thinning out. Soon, she emerged into a clearing again. Facing ashes and rui... no.

Cakey began shaking her head. No. No. No, not ashes and ruins, beautiful little petite shops facing a larger street, where on the other end a small department store still lay... with her sister's body - no, no, no, she never had a sister, she never had a sister...

She'd never sneaked out of here before...

She'd never curled up on the pavement so pityingly before...

Never ever had a sister...

Never been here when that fire started...

No, there's never even _been_ a fire...

Never... stole something from the shops with her sister. Never tried a bit of vanilla cake for the last time with her, never commented that it tasted disgusting, never did anything together...


	13. Seeing

**I'm back! From! Oregon! It's 7:30 exactly, I've just finished the summary of 5 chapters for my novel synopsis (woohoo!) and I will try to get everything sent to a publisher before school starts in August. There's a lot of make-up stuff to do today ~**

* * *

Chapter 11

"Going to perform any more of these awfully entertaining antics today?" Hiss asked, folding his tail over his paws.

Spider didn't respond. She was trying to act dumb, after all. Instead, she put all the weight on her hind legs and tried to stand, since she'd recently run out of real tricks, but instead toppled over and collapsed onto the ground. (Balancing was never her strong suite, and especially with the scratches...)

Hiss glanced at her sideways. "Huh. I guess you're no threat to me after all, but just a friendly warning: I won't keep you for long if you keep being clumsy." He sighed, closing his eyes and resting his head on his paws.

Soon, he started snoring.

Spider waited until she was sure he was asleep, then rose to her paws and began heading quickly to the direction of the forest beyond. The trees all seemed wilted somehow, and their leaves were so pale that she could hardly make out the green. It fit in right with the rest of the whole place.

She had been coming here every day, every time Hiss took a break from her or was sleeping or napping. Now she stood before the formidable trees, wondering how much truth she could get out of her visit this time. Still pondering, she stepped into the woods.

Creatures scuttled somewhere deep in the undergrowth; a line of hissing snakes many times as long as she was tall slithered from a group of oaks, and stopped right in her tracks. "Move aside," she told them calmly, like she did every time, and they hesitated only a little while before disappearing again into the shadows.

Branches wrapped around her legs, trying to press them to the ground, and now Spider's pace was slowed considerably. "Get off of me," she commanded, like she did the snakes, but strangely, the plants wouldn't respond to her.

Eventually, the trees started thinning out enough for her to reach a clearing, which dipped down to a small pool. Spider stopped at the edge, but didn't sit. She took a deep breath. Here goes nothing. "I was sent here even though I should have reached StarClan. Why?"

The pool hesitated for just a moment before an image appeared on the surface - not her reflection, but a ginger and gray she-cat with light amber eyes. Spider felt her blood start to boil over. Every single time, it was the same result. It was not an answer, just...

She stopped. Thought about it further for a second.

Maybe it _was_ the answer.

"So what you mean is, I'm actually worthless and someone else was supposed to end up here... that she-cat I saw. There was a switch-up accident."

The pool rippled, as if thinking, but since the last comment wasn't an actual question... it shifted to an image of a small brown tom sitting in front of a pool just like the one Spider had, his eyes focused intensely on the water. "Oh, wise pool of the ancients..." he breathed.

The words sounded ridiculous, but in his voice... his tone... coming from him... it seemed like so much more.

"Tell me my destiny. Show me my enemy. Show me... who I have to get rid of before it's too late."

Spider had to squint to see the reflection in the other pool. It rippled at first, though no wind disturbed the surface, as if confused, then turned to the image of Sparrowchirp with her tail curled around... a kit. It seemed more like a ball of fur to Spider, but before she could try to see it better, both the cats disappeared and the pool was still once more.

The brown tom lowered his head. "I see. So this kit... the child of that tortoiseshell she-cat, will grow up to rival me? Then I must find it and..." he paused. "I don't suppose just killing it would do much. I must banish it to a place where it will never come back. I know a place. I can do it. My magic is strong."

Spider paused. Head spinning.

So that ginger and gray she-cat was Sparrowchirp's real kit.

Her replacement.

That tom thought that she-cat was supposed to be Spider.

That she-cat was important. Spider wasn't. She died for nothing. She was wrong to assume she had a destiny to fulfill, even in this cold and dreary place. She was wrong to assume that she even had a role in all of this. Even if the world ended, she would stay right here, watching from her pool... hoping.

Hoping never did anything for her.

But the brown tom still wasn't finished. "Let me get this straight. I need to find that kit, whoever it is, have it die somehow, and then send it to the land of faded souls. Though knowing StarClan, they'll probably try to send to that kit's group a prophecy or omen. So it won't be easy. Help me."

The pool inside the pool hesitated for a long time, as if deciding whether to give guidance or not. Then, finally, a faint image appeared on the surface. It was of a cat... an awfully familiar cat. Spider bit her mouth.

It was Flutterpaw.

She looked so carefree. She looked to be still a kit's age in that image, eyes wide and ears perked up adorably. Spider felt like choking, but she forced herself to stay calm. _That's the traitor. Not your sister. That's the one who betrayed you even though you were trying to save her..._

Then the brown tom said, "I'm good with sending omens myself. I can... appear to her in a dream. Convince her to help me."

Wait.

What?

Flutterpaw was _convinced?_

So if Spider had held on to her rage... didn't try to murder her... held on to her until the storm passed... didn't attempt to murder _herself_... stayed alive until the tom killed that ginger she-cat and sent her here... then she might have had a destiny. Replaced a cat who was actually _important._ But instead, she _died._

Maybe in a strange and twisted way, Flutterpaw could have been her savior. That brown tom probably wasn't expecting Spider to fight back so hard, to make it to the end of the battle alive. But he didn't have to do anything else. She pretty much died _for_ him.

She always had trouble managing her anger, after all.

"Is Flutterpaw in StarClan right now?" Spider asked the pool, shaking. "Does she think I'm just a murderer? Is that ginger she-cat still alive? Is there a way I can kill _her?_ "

That last question hadn't been meant to come out. But now that it did, it just felt so _right._ She ruined Spider's life (and death). Spider can ruins hers in return.

The pool, however, stayed silent, and Spider suddenly knew why.

She had asked too many questions at once. The pool saw that as a threat. The last time that happened...

Something howled deep in the night. Creatures, large and small, stopped what they were doing at once and began scuttling through the undergrowth _t_ _owards_ her. Tree branches and roots blocked her way out. She was trapped, with nothing but a pool in sight.

 _Hold on a minute..._

Spider glanced back, and a dozen pairs of glowing red eyes stared back at her. Somehow, she knew that the creatures wouldn't make way for her even if she asked nicely this time. She took a deep breath, wondering if she could die a second time, then jumped right into the pool.

She never hit bottom.

* * *

 **So heads up: when I wrote that finale for Song of the Shadows, I didn't plan out anything that was in this chapter. But I did feel that there were some plot holes and some things didn't make sense, so there you go: an explanation.**

 **Please review. They are really appreciated.**


	14. Flying

**i'm back, this is a filler more than much of anything else, i'm still getting cramps.**

 **Random subject: tell me someone has read the Thickety series. Or at least the first book (The Path Begins). It's just so good, I think it might be my new favorite book so far. (If you've read it, then you can probably start to tell what sort of stories I like.)**

* * *

Chapter 12

Brightpool wasn't exactly sure how to feel when a spirit-cat just seemed to appear out of nowhere.

No heads up. No, "Hey, I'm just popping in." But the next time she turned back, she was more than a little startled to see a green pair of eyes staring back at her. The spirit's fur was light gray, which made her all the harder to see as it seemed completely transparent.

She was hovering right above the pool that made up the corner of the cave, and Brightpool was just about to form a theory when her strange new friend behind her muttered, "Someone escaped from the Fading Forest? But... I thought the creatures that protected the pool-"

Suddenly, the new spirit's eyes hardened as they seemed to recognize the brown tom. " _You!_ " she snarled. "Why are _you_ here?"

He seemed unable to respond for a moment, but then regained his composure just as quick. "Exactly the question you should be asking yourself. Violet isn't doing her job, it seems. I told her specifically to not let you through the Pathway."

The spirit she-cat almost choked. "The pool has a _name?_ Well, if she's not following the orders of someone like you..."

Suddenly, some realization seemed to dawn upon her. "Or maybe she _was_ following your order. I can't believe you still haven't figured it out."

The brown tom growled, shoving past Brightpool and swiping at the air in front of the spirit, but she merely charged right at him - and passed through both cats with a rush of cold air. Brightpool wasn't sure whom to help, but it turned out that she didn't have to do anything. By the time she turned around, the other she-cat had already disappeared out the dark tunnel into the world.

* * *

Eelpaw was silent for a long time, which really wasn't like him - and it disturbed me. I was thinking for a long time about what to say to him, but I was saved, strangely, by a stranger lugging along yet another stranger.

He was brown with lighter stripes, with blue eyes that seemed dim from exhaustion. In his teeth he held the scruff of a tortoiseshell she-cat, seemingly unconscious.

I didn't know why, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

The new tom didn't seem to be too shocked when he saw two strange cats coming out of the woods at him, but I did notice that the fur along his back was raised. I figured he'd had a long day. Glancing at Eelpaw, I almost expected him to say something first out of habit, but his gaze was unfocused, distracted.

"Who are you?" I asked, taking the lead from him. "Have you seen a small ginger tom around here? Gray paws? Blue eyes?"

He hesitated. I could tell that the description rung a bell for him. "Maybe... you're not a spirit, right?"

 _Why in StarClan would he say that?_ "No, but I definitely have more spirit than you if that's what you mean."

Seemingly to relax a bit more, he dropped the body of the she-cat on the ground. I flinched, for some reason. Somehow, she reminded me of someone. "Okay, just making sure. I'm Cedarpaw. This is..." he glanced down at the tortoiseshell. "Someone. Sparrowchirp is her name."

"Hah. So you're with her because...?"

"Long story. But I can't stay to explain. My... uh, group is going to be going after me. Probably. The ginger tom you described is kind of keeping them busy right now. If I were you, I would go find some place to hide." Cedarpaw glanced at us curiously. "Do you also have a... group?"

"Two groups, more or less, but that doesn't matter." Nudging Eelpaw, I called, "Hope they don't catch you!" before turning around and starting to pad reluctantly away. He was right. Perhaps Dustpaw could wait after all.

Ten steps out, I realized that it wasn't Cedarpaw I didn't want to leave behind. It was the tortoiseshell she-cat.

* * *

Spider couldn't remember the last time she had ever felt so, absolutely, amazingly free.

In LightClan, there had always been rules about where you weren't allowed to go and when - or where you _were_ allowed,really, because that would make the list a lot shorter. Even out in the territory, she either had an escort or was on the trail of some important task or other.

Now, as she looked down at the expanse that spread before her in all directions, she knew that this was the definition of freedom - although she did also wonder why she didn't feel happier.

Below her, the tunnel and the cave disappeared as she soared on. Behind was a wide stretch of strangely shaped structures that Spider had never seen before - she assumed that this must be the Twolegplace she had often heard about in tall tales. She flew on, head spinning.

Soon, she passed over the range of mountains that the cave was set in. Spider didn't know why, but she was itching to keep moving. Eventually, after what seemed like forever, something in the distance caught her attention.

It was a lake.

Calm, still, shimmering in the bright sunlight; as Spider got closer, she could see a wide expanse of forest to the north, sweeping hills to the south, and some marshes to the west. Nothing appeared out of place. It seemed like the perfect territory for any clan to settle down in.

But it still disturbed her nonetheless.

It was too much like a ghost town for comfort.


	15. Delivering

**School is going to be starting in four days, so update times may start to become a bit more unpredictable. Still, quality over quantity. Plus, doing nothing all day is fun. Let me keep it that way for a few more decades and invent an immortality potion while I'm at it lol**

* * *

Chapter 13

I was flying back to the jay's temporary nest the moment we came out of the woods. Eelpaw was behind me, and then, a rush of excitement later, I started running and he was way behind me in the darkness. My paws pattered up the crest of a hill, my heart lifting just a tiny bit thinking about my new friend.

Reaching my destination before long, I crouched down, peeking into the small tunnel. Nothing was there. The rock lay at the bottom, shoved to the side. Had it really left me already? My spirits sank for just a moment before hearing the sound of chirping - and what that meant.

"Gee, you could have escaped but you're still here?" I asked incredulously.

Even though blue jays all looked the same to me, for some reason, I had no doubt that it was the one from before. It was perched on the branch of a young fig tree, its wings only looking slightly crooked, fixing me with a beady-eyed stare. "Squawk!"

I sighed. If no one else was going to be listening, then this might as well be my audience. "Okay, so, like, stuff has been blowing up in my face lately. I don't know if this happens to everyone, but this is getting a bit crazy... lots has happened in a single day... Eelpaw's acting weird..."

Meanwhile, the blue jay was still looking intently at me, as if waiting for me to continue. I did. "It feels like I was hallucinating, especially the parts where Cakey literally dropped out of a tree... and she called me Gingersomething..."

The more I thought about it, the more ridiculous my situation sounded. Before long, I was on the ground, sideways, giggling for no apparent reason, while my new bird friend kept squawking in annoyance. I didn't even notice Eelpaw pad up behind me until he finally said-

"Er, don't tell me that the forest unhinged you, too."

His tone of voice sounded so normal, for a moment I could almost imagine that nothing had ever happened and it was just another day on a sunny hill, planning our next prank even though we were supposed to be out hunting. I quickly scrambled to my paws. "Say what?"

Eelpaw rolled his eyes, already padding away. I followed, a bit curious. He had been so silent, so _unnaturally_ silent back in the forest that I almost thought something had really gotten to him. "Urm, you're feeling fine, right?"

"Huh?... Of course," Eelpaw said distractedly as we approached the camp.

Spiderstar was standing near the entrance, glaring at us, clearly annoyed. His stiff tail was raised in the air and I could sense the air of hostility from a territory away. "I don't need to ask what you were gone a whole day for," he hissed. "I know you two went to look for Snowcoat."

"No, Dustpaw," Eelpaw corrected. To be honest, that was pretty much the truth. "He... went after her, because, uh, they share strong bonds. Force-feeding bonds. Hard to break, you know." He chuckled, then drooped his head. "But he was nowhere to be seen..."

Spiderstar stared at us suspiciously. "If you say so. But no leaving the camp until I say so, as you two will both be put on guard, bedding, and water duty."

Ratspeck, my lovely mentor, finally took that moment to step up, saying nervously, "Excuse me, Spiderstar... that leaves no apprentices left to hunt for the clan. Should we send out a rescue patrol to find Dustpaw? Plus, on a different subject, Spottedcreek is-"

" _Featherbird!_ " the queen screeched, sounding like she was being tortured. " _Help me!_ My kits are coming!"

"Shouldn't that be Ebonypaw's job?" I asked to no one in particular.

"I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die and my kits will never know their mother, oh, it is so tragic, it's almost like one of those tales Hailstrike was telling me about, no no no, I don't want to die, my heart is aching for my poor kits, absolutely throbbing with pain, _Featherbird! Get over here!_ "

Spiderstar glanced at the nursery, where Ebonypaw was slowly shuffling to reluctantly, then back at us with only a slightly concerned expression.

"To your earlier points, Ratspeck," he said smoothly, "since Spottedcreek used to be a Guarder but became a Chaser queen only because Featherbird wanted to mate with her, her kits should not have the same privilege. They are half Guarder, and that is enough to determine their future role in this clan."

Spottedcreek was now screaming a lovely soprano. "I'm going to diiieee... but no one can defyyy... the cruelness of faaate..."

"So, as soon as her kits are ready," Spiderstar continued, "they are going to take up Furzepaw's and Eelpaw's duty, while they can resume their apprenticeship and hunt for StormClan." He nodded, satisfied with this idea. "It is every cat's duty to take care of each other, after all."

"Spottedcreek, calm down," Ebonypaw's exasperated voice sounded from the nursery. I could almost see her rolling her eyes. "There's only one kit left, and it's going better than most deliveries. There isn't even much blood."

Spiderstar glared at us coldly. "Go assist Ebonypaw. Do whatever she tells you to. I'm letting you two off easy. If you do anything catastrophic this time-" or even something mildly entertaining, I thought- "I will make sure that you sleep outside for the next two moons."

On the way to the nursery, I asked Eelpaw, "Is this really where we're going to be living for the rest of our lives?"

He glanced at me briefly. "I don't want to know."


	16. Responding

***looks pleased at the tablefull of snacks before me* I'm back! *pops orange flavored gummy into mouth just because* I don't have much homework today so I have time to set aside half an hour for this. Not that I didn't have time the day before. Heh.**

* * *

Chapter 14

The next day, everyone was gathered at the entrance of the nursery, hushing each other and occasionally gasping randomly. I was a bit annoyed because I sure as StarClan didn't get as much attention when _I_ was a kit, but at least it drew Spiderstar's focus away from us for a while.

"The thing is, kits aren't even cute," Eelpaw scoffed. "They look like little balls of fur, like those burs in your pelt you're always trying to get out."

He was sitting at the edge of the top of the gorge, staring below while I went about murdering pretty flowers, bored. Unfortunately, things hadn't gone too well yesterday. I swore I was only trying to nip the sac and accidentally went a bit overboard, but the bite marks on the gray kit were hard to remove from memory.

In a rage, Spiderstar cuffed my ears several times before sending us both outside. Eelpaw had heard rumors from his mentor that the leader was considering 'taking care' of us two. "If it means exiling us, I'm not going to protest too hard," I had said.

Eelpaw rolled his eyes. "Maybe it means he wants to kill us both," he said half-heartedly. "That'll be exciting. Spice up our lives a bit. Maybe we'll kill him while he's trying to murder us and then everyone will be so happy that they'll elect me as leader... and so I'll make you a warrior with the most boring name ever. Furzefur?"

"Excuse me, was someone talking about me?"

Spiderstar's form loomed in the shadow of the gorge walls as he came up the pathway to join us. I looked down, not wanting to face his intense glare again, but for some reason, his eyes were softer than usual. He wasn't screaming at us, either, and that scared me.

I shoved Eelpaw away angrily. "No! I mean, yes. He was just talking about..."

"I see." Spiderstar didn't even wait for me to finish my lie. "In that case, Furzepaw, allow me to take your mind off your worries for a moment. Spottedcreek's two kits are indeed a... wonder. How about you go play with them?"

Eelpaw glanced uncertainly at me. I didn't want to be there, though, when Spiderstar started taking out his anger on him, so I hopped down to the boulder that would take me down the gorge pathway. His breath was right on my neck, fast and uneven. I started feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Right as I reached out with a forepaw to take the first steps, right at that moment of unbalance, Spiderstar head-butted me hard.

I fell. It wasn't the sensation of falling that made me feel sick at first, but that throat-strangling, heart-wrenching second of panic. I had about a single moment to reflect on my current situation, in which I spent panicking, before I crash-landed.

It happened all so fast, I didn't even have time to see the sharp, jagged rocks below get bigger and bigger. Instead, time itself somehow seemed to be taunting me by making that one moment seem like forever, stretching it into eternity...

I blinked.

Eelpaw's teeth sank into my scruff.

I _hadn't_ crash landed. I thought at first that it just took a while for the pain to register, but after another few seconds of staring at the ground, I realized that I hadn't even fallen far - after all, he had managed to catch me. The initial panic just made it seem so much worse.

Several cats had turned around and were now staring at us. Did I scream? I wondered. I couldn't remember. There was a heavy buzzing in my head, which made it hard to concentrate on anything. I hoped that they had seen Spiderstar push me. No one would believe me otherwise...

Spiderstar padded up to us calmly. Or, at least, that's what it looked like from a distance. Up close, I could see his legs shaking slightly. "Thank you, Eelpaw, from preventing what could have been a tragic accident," he said, taking my scruff from him and lowering me to the ground.

I wanted to say something, but I found that I couldn't move. Couldn't talk.

The only thing circling in my mind, over and over again, was the thought, _He tried to murder me he can push me at any time it's not safe anymore I need to run but what about Eelpaw no he'll be fine on his own..._

Somewhere above, a bird chirped.

It sounded familiar.

I didn't know why, but that sound jerked me back to action. Glancing around, I could see that Eelpaw was standing between me and Spiderstar - heavens, trying to save me for the second time - and I spotted an opportunity.

I took a step away.

Spiderstar caught my movement, eyeing me cautiously while maintaining his calm composure. Or fake calm composure. Sensing that I knew about his intentions, he meowed softly, "It's not worth it."

I ran.

The wind brushing past my face would have felt awesome if it weren't for the fact that I was being chased. For someone ancient compared to me, he was a whole lot faster than I thought. In a few strides, he caught up to me. I was already at the edge of the pine forest, though, and that wasn't StormClan territory.

Then my loyal jaybird ally soared in from out of nowhere, and chaos ensued.

Spiderstar screamed. I thought he'd have no problem fighting off a bird, but it was pecking all over his face and digging talons into his eyes. He reached out towards me desperately, claws unsheathed, and I faced a momentary second of panic. _Help help help HELP_

What happened next, I would never be able to describe well enough.

It was like the forest was _responding_ to me.

Small weeds wrapped around his paws and tugged him into the ground. Grasses grabbed at his legs, his neck, his ears, any part of him they could latch on to. Spiderstar screamed, but I could hardly hear him above the slithering of plant roots digging beneath my paws. Trees parted gently in front of me, though, as if to make an entranceway.

When it was all over, I walked up to Spiderstar's body, in shock but not in shock at the same time. Poking at his legs, I could see that all four of them were broken at slightly different angles.

* * *

 **review please. sorry, i was feeling violent today. i promise the story will pick up somewhat in the next chapter.**


	17. Calling

**I could have given you another excuse why I couldn't update on time... by now, it's pretty much a weekly update thing. But nope. This time, I promised myself I would actually do what I was supposed to do! :D Here, have a chapter, and a chocolate bunny, and a real bunny.**

* * *

Chapter 15

Hallucinating.

I was hallucinating. I _had_ to be hallucinating, right? Plants don't just reach up and grab you. Sure, the roots seemed to stretch further away from the forest than appeared possible, and I could see some tall grasses growing from a few strange places, but at least they were all still now. Inanimate.

Then I put a paw on Spiderstar's hind legs again. _(Oh StarClan, is he really just dead like that?)_ It made a snapping sound as I put my weight on it. _(Oh StarClan, oh StarClan, oh StarClan...)_ Some of his fur parted aside, and there I could see a vine still wrapped tightly around his leg.

Never mind.

I hadn't hallucinated.

Spiderstar really was dead. I didn't need to check his heartbeat to make sure. Besides, even if he somehow wasn't, he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon with four mangled limbs. I had _murdered_ him by way of various species of sadistic plant. Spiderstar had only ever been unkind to me my entire life, but murder was murder. I deserved to be exiled. I deserved to be...

The jay was sitting on Spiderstar's head, looking a bit surprised. I glanced back at the forest. It appeared as peaceful as ever, if a bit quieter, as if the creatures had been scared away by the recent commotion. No one seemed to be coming for me yet, which was good, but I wondered when the cats back at camp would realize something was wrong.

If they did come after me, then I doubted I would be able to defend myself. Jays were ferocious against one cat, but unfortunately wouldn't hold off long against a furious Chaser mob. I could run into the forest, but I didn't know if they would be willing to keep coming after me. Plus, there was also the problem of Eelpaw...

"What did you do to him?" someone screamed behind me.

I turned around.

Silverspark's long, luscious gray fur poofed out even more than usual today, probably due to anger. Her beady amber eyes bored into the scene before her with clear horror. "You killed him!" she shrieked. "You evil, twisted excuse for a cat! Today, I will show you revenge!"

Her claws unsheathed. I knew that unlike Spiderstar, she was a skilled fighter, and I had no desire to get ripped apart into tiny shreds. I had no idea how to explain everything to her, either. _(Well, you see, those evil murderous plants came out of nowhere and started snapping his bones...)_

But a few moments later, my spirits managed to sink even lower than they were already.

It looked like she had brought backup.

Five, six, seven assorted Chasers stood behind her in a row, hackles raised, ready to charge on command. It was either certain death or probable death and pain in a dark and mysterious place. _Think, Furzepaw. Either/or. Either/or..._

I backed away. My shadow was now swallowed up by the shadows of the trees. Silverspark's expression suddenly seemed to get a bit more uncertain - she hadn't expected me to be such a coward. "Fine! Run!" she screamed. _(Did her voice have a volume control?)_ "If we ever see you again, we'll kill you!"

Someone familiar slipped into view beside the Chaser warriors.

If he wasn't standing several tail-lengths away, I would have strangled him. "Eelpaw!" I yelled. "This is really not a good time!"

Eelpaw ignored my protests, padding up to me like he hadn't just burst into a murder scene. I thought he would at least acknowledge me, but instead he went right past me. "Come on," he finally said. "I'll lead the way."

If Silverspark's fur could have poofed out any more, she would have looked like a giant spiky snowball. "I knew you both were traitors," she hissed. "We won't forget this!"

I half-expected Eelpaw to grin and say something witty back. But once again, he seemed to have fallen back into the stranger, gloomier form of himself. "Sure," he muttered, disappearing into the forest.

I followed, glancing back every once in a while. Some of the Chasers looked horrified that they were just going to let go of two traitorous apprentices like that. The others were leaning forward and looked like they were hardly holding themselves back. "Um, are you sure they aren't going to follow us?" I asked nervously.

The moment I asked that question, a short-furred brown tom charged toward me. I just barely had enough time to recognize his name - Thistlehawk - before he landed right in front of me, claws skidding on the ground. "No one gets away with murder!" he snarled.

I glanced at an elderberry bush beside me. These plants didn't look dangerous anymore. They just looked like plants. If I concentrated, could I really do... what I just did? _Hello, bush. Please help me._

The bush did not respond.

Thistlehawk apparently took my hesitation as frozen panic, because he took a step closer, grimacing. "See, we could talk this out. We could do this the good way. But we can't have you murdering anyone else, can we?"

 _Please. Please._

The bush was still a bush.

 _I'm scared. You helped me before. Help me now._

No reply.

Thistlehawk raised a paw.

 _NOW! NOW! NOW!_

Suddenly, the warrior stumbled. I could begin to hear voices in my head, made of not words but sheer thought, and before I could think this through, a squirrel appeared from seemingly nowhere and raked its tiny claws down Thistlehawk's paws. Distracted, he spun around.

More voices emerged in my mind, louder, all monotone, but all with the same underlying message.

"Furzepaw, run!" Eelpaw yelled back at me.

"You don't know where you're going!"

"Yes, I do! Of course I do! Haven't you ever thought about why I was so confident about going into the forest? I've been in here before! Many times!"

 _WILL DO WHAT QUEEN COMMANDS._

I ran after him, my brain feeling overheated. _Please just stop. I'm fine now._

 _WILL OBEY QUEEN. WILL KILL FOR QUEEN._

* * *

 **and now you're just like what, she gets powers now**


	18. Guarding

**"I don't like your little games. Don't like your tilted stage. The role you made me play - of the fool." Oh, and - "honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time! I've got a list of names and yours is in red underlined!" It's addicting once you listen to it several times.**

* * *

Chapter 16

"How have you been here before?" I demanded, out of breath from all the running.

How many times had I been running away from something in the last couple days? More than a healthy amount, that was for sure.

Eelpaw glanced back at me, seemingly annoyed although his eyes still had a distracted feel to them. (I hated that. Please come back, old-Eelpaw-who-was-an-idiot-but-still.) "My mom, obviously. I thought you knew me."

The last part wasn't an accusation as much as a statement. Truth be told, I thought I knew Eelpaw too, but more in the sense of let's-dump-water-into-Spiderstar's-nest than I-feel-so-bad-for-your-dead-mom-here-have-a-shoulder-to-cry-on. "I know she's dead."

"Rustbelly got her warrior name right after Snowcoat found out she was pregnant," Eelpaw muttered. "Beetlepaw got exiled for it. Rustbelly only got to stay because she had me. My brother... kinda died at birth. I'll tell you more about it later."

"Oh, wow." I wasn't sure what else to say. "Newtfur didn't really bother with me after I stopped needing milk. See? She's just Newtfur to me. Not a mom. But she's nice when I ask her for something. Sorta like an aunt. Halftalon... never really talked to him." I shrugged.

Eelpaw suddenly glanced in my direction, where a rocky cliff rose up a few tail-lengths behind me. "Erm, what's that behind you?"

I spun around, and immediately wished I hadn't. The carcass of two mice were strewn at the base of a tree, blood and innards spilling over a ripped belly. It really made me wonder how someone could just play with the bodies of two perfectly good mice and leave them to rot. "I think someone was here recently."

"This is near the place where we last saw Cakes or whatever, right?" Eelpaw asked, poking the mice tentatively.

Like in response, something rumbled in the distance like something large hitting the ground.

"Please don't tell me she's dropping rocks from trees again," I sighed.

"I think that sound was a bit too much for just a rock," Eelpaw pointed out, suddenly dipping down to sniff the ground. "Hey, also, there's some faint scent here. It goes on a line, like a border marking. But there's only one scent all the way for some reason."

I was busy examining something close to the two mice to answer. "Eelpaw, there's a boulder nearby. Some of the rocks on that cliff look like they've been knocked down. Maybe one of the boulders happened to hit the mice or something?"

Eelpaw was about to reply when the booming sound reverberated throughout the forest again. He took a deep breath. "I'm going to tell her to knock it off."

"Good luck with that," I muttered, following him.

Strangely, even as we looked around at all the tree branches, Cakey never showed herself. "I think she's up on the cliff."

"Hey, guys!"

Sure enough, her voice traveled down to us right after his statement. She was perched at the edge of the cliff, a smile plastered on her face as always, although this time it looked rushed as if she had been caught in an uncomfortable position. "Do you live here or something?"

"No," I called back. "I just wanted to ask why you're pushing boulders off a cliff."

Maybe it was just me, but Cakey's smile seemed to falter for just a second. "Hah, nothing. My mate thinks it's annoying, but that's couple problems for you." She paused to shove a smaller rock over the edge. It landed with a disheartening _thud_.

"Do you live in a clan like StormClan?" Eelpaw asked, sensing the mood and changing the subject. "The both of us need shelter... we're kind of in trouble with our clanmates right now. They might send out another patrol for us."

Cakey froze, as if caught doing something wrong, then relaxed again. This was really starting to annoy me. So many cats hiding things, and I could tell as clear as day that they were, so why didn't they just fess up? "Of course I have a clan," she said. "But they might not be friendly towards strangers."

Eelpaw shook his head. "That's a might. Do you think they'll let us stay for the night, at least, though?"

"No! No!" Cakey quickly said, looking slightly panicked, and also like she was about to pass out. "I mean, of course not! They really don't like strangers." She had started to scuff the ground in anxiety, I noted. "Please. Go. It's for your best. They might chase you away. Or, or worse."

Eelpaw was starting to look more and more suspicious. "Huh... are you sure about that?"

He marched up to the base of the cliff with determination. "This clan of yours, why have I never seen any of your clanmates? Do only you patrol?"

"Totally!" Cakey added perhaps too suddenly, looking relieved. "They're really lazy. Fisher really likes to sleep. Er... Cloudy only hunts because she's afraid of trespassers. I'm like the only one that's responsible." She chuckled. "So are you done here or not?"

"Can I see your clan, then?" Eelpaw asked as innocently as possible.

I padded up to his side in support. "I would love to. It's going to get really dark here, and we don't know if the woods here are dangerous or not. I would love to have the protection of so many cats. It sounds like a great place."

Cakey paused, as if thinking about arguing, but then finally sighed in defeat. "Okay, guys. Up this side is a path up."

* * *

 **why doesn't cakey want them to see the clan? next chapter, appearance from snowcoat. finally.**


	19. Coming

**Do you guys like potato chips? Here, have some Kettle Brand Potato Chips, cooked in 100 percent avocado oil with added Himalayan salt. Munch munch. This chapter is brought to you by Kettle Brand Potato Chips, a non-GMO, gluten free, with no preservatives, no-trans-fat project.**

* * *

Chapter 17

Cakey led us rather hurriedly to a small bush a few tail-lengths away from the cliff edge, then stopped. "This is to be your den for now," she said.

I squinted at her suspiciously. "Hold on, I thought you just said a few moments ago that you were going to lead us to see the clan?"

"Did I?" Cakey's tail started sweeping the ground, back and forth, back and forth, as if to distract me and buy her some time. "No, I didn't. This bush was carved out from the inside by my clan specifically for visitors like you. Look. The sun is going down. Maybe I can show you the clan tomorrow."

 _Right..._

I watched as Cakey hurried away, trying to huddle with Eelpaw under some bare branches and dry leaves. "Okay, so we all know that what she's saying is a load of fox-dung and she's just trying to keep us from the clan," I said. "Now we just have to find out why. Oh, and also, she's heading in the wrong direction."

Sure enough, instead of going in further from the edge of the cliff, she was heading _along_ it. The camp couldn't be situated all the way there, could it?

"I'm going to follow her," I announced quietly, standing up. Cakey wasn't even looking back to make sure we weren't following her, which either meant she was expecting it or she was really distracted. Eelpaw nodded in agreement, about to get up as well, but instead I stepped gently on his tail.

"It's harder for two cats to follow than one. I'll go ahead and see what happens. If something interesting happens, I'll come back to get you."

Eelpaw didn't look too enthusiastic about it, but he eventually reluctantly slunk back into the shadows of the bush. I waited until Cakey's figure disappeared around a corner, then got into my best crouching position and started padding after as quietly as I could. It was hard. StormClan never trained us future Guarders about how to sneak around.

Eventually, I could see Cakey's figure in the distance and I started trekking even slower than before. _Slow and steady. It's not worth it to get caught._ I stepped on more than a few twigs along the way, but something told me that Cakey was too distracted to be suspicious.

Maybe she did notice and just decided to let me come up.

But something told me otherwise.

Cakey was sitting, hunched, on the edge of the cliff, about half a territory away from the hollowed-out bush. Her paws scrabbled absentmindedly around the surface for something, then found a pebble and flung it down as far as it would go. The sound of it hitting the ground was sudden, and I nearly jumped, but above all it just seemed... lonely.

Then she spoke.

"I'm doing all I can, sis. Honestly, I don't think you're coming back. If you could, if you wanted to, you would be by now. I don't want to believe you just died. But if you're listening from somewhere up there-" here, she chuckled- "just, like, take what I said into consideration. Um, yeah. Thanks."

For the first time, her voice sounded... right. It wasn't that high-pitched squeal that I had since learned was forced. I wanted to get closer, to keep listening, entranced - I was fascinated, for StarClan's sake - but my tail accidentally whacked against a branch behind me and I yelped in surprise.

Cakey couldn't ignore that.

She turned towards me.

It took a while before her eyes finally settled on mine in the dark. Her legs tightened up as if to stand, her mouth made a motion as if to smile, but she must have decided it wasn't worth it. She hunched over again, leaning even lower than before. "Oh. Hi."

"Hi." Stepping out of the shadows, I tried to look as curious and non-threatening as possible. Several thorns and brambles stuck to my pelt and refused to fall off. "I... heard everything."

"That's cool. In case you're wondering, my sister might have died in a fire lots of moons ago." Cakey flinched, as if by saying it she was confirming it even further. "Um... we were close. Pretty much as close as siblings could get. I left her body there on the spot. It disappeared the next day."

I decided to focus on the positive. "So she might still be alive."

"Exactly." Cakey took a deep breath. "Huh, maybe talking about this with someone actually helps."

I studied her expression. She seemed to be lost in memory land right now. Maybe this was the best time to ask. "Erm, not to sound weird, and I know this is really off-topic, but... can I ask you why you're pushing rocks off this cliff all the time?"

Strangely, Cakey didn't seem surprised by my question.

She didn't answer me for a while, though.

"It's a nice, tall cliff, huh? The rocks make such a loud, satisfying sound on the ground."

 _I noticed that already?_ I decided not to voice my thoughts. "I know."

"That's why my sis once commented that anyone in the world could hear the racket some of the bigger ones made." Cakey was starting to smile now - a genuine smile. "She never hears _me,_ though. Maybe she was wrong. Then there are the times when I like to imagine the pebbles stamping out the flames."

I didn't know what to say to that. _That's crazy?_ No. _That's weird?_ No.

 _That's determination?_

"That's determination. That's courage. She has to come back... if not by the way you're doing it. Is there anything else you can do that might remind her of you?" I asked.

Cakey thought about it for a moment, tail curled up tightly.

"Lullaby."

"What?"

"She used to sing this lullaby for me. I can't remember most of the words, though. I only recall one line. Maybe not yet, no regrets. Or something like that."

"Maybe not yet, no regrets?"

Cakey nodded.

Part of me knew it was impossible. If she had been trying to contact her sister for so long, then what chance did I have? But looking at that face, hopelessness splashed on every surface, I knew she was close to defeat and somehow that made me more determined than ever. I took a deep breath.

"Maybe not yet, no regrets! _"_ I screamed to the cold night air as loud as I could.

Cakey turned towards me, her dull eyes perhaps shining a bit brighter tonight. "Maybe you're onto something."

Then so began a long night of echoes. In the beginning, I went first and she followed, her smaller voice like an echo, but soon it became louder and louder with desperation and my throat was getting hoarse from yelling. Eventually, I wasn't even able to form the words correctly anymore and so the cacophony of screams and shouts and yelps was starting to sound like the howling of ghost wolves.

Eventually, I couldn't do it anymore.

Collapsing onto my side, I began lapping up dew from some grass blades. Cakey was laying on her back, staring up at the stars. They shined ever so brightly tonight, and I wanted to yell at them for gleaming so coldly, so far away but I couldn't even manage a croak.

This went on for a long time.

No one came.

Cakey was about to stand up, but just then, something rustled in the undergrowth below.

I shot up like a bolt of lightning and sped to the edge of the cliff, eyes scanning the darkness for something, something, something other than moonlight-bathed leaves. Cakey was right beside me, tail sweeping the ground in anticipation.

Then a swath of clouds cleared away from the moon above us, and I nearly toppled off the edge.

It was Snowcoat.


	20. Trading

**I'm back. I just got a B on my newest test. My grade is saved... for now... and I can update! well i actually had ample time even before but i just needed another excuse although i actually did need to study and... never mind**

 **By the way, I'm really trying hard here with this chapter to make up for the slight bits of cheesiness you might have found in the previous books.**

 **Some of the omen bits just seemed rushed and forced, I know, and there are still cutscenes from before I hadn't finished off on... but I hope by the end of this, some things will make a bit more sense.**

* * *

Chapter 18

Leaf wasn't really sure how he'd gotten into this mess.

Even now, his head was spinning. Not from the realization of who he used to be, not that that wasn't plenty shocking. No, from the fact that he had set off for RiverClan with the intention of asking for help - a simple mission, in fact - and somehow ended up like... this.

More specifically, getting threatened. He had never, ever, _ever_ gotten threatened before. He'd always been the one in charge, the one who gave orders, who was usually never scared of anything.

"There are three sides to this game," the brown tom had said, who soon introduced himself as Shatterbronze. "There's Hiss, there's you and me, and there are those who oppose us." He then stepped aside to reveal a tiny fragment of glowing white stone. "This is a piece of the original Moonstone."

 _Diamond diamond, in the sky..._

Leaf usually wasn't shocked by anything, but to see Shatterbronze appear right in front of him, seemingly out of nowhere, pale like a spirit, was a bit too much. "Hold on," Leaf had growled. "I don't even know who you are. How did you get here?"

"This," Shatterbronze purred softly, stroking the rock as if it were a tiny kit. "Haven't you always wondered how cats are able to dream their way to StarClan with this? Haven't you ever wondered if you tried using it for other purposes? Haven't you-"

Leaf stepped forward, swatting his paw at the other cat. Shatterbronze flinched back, but not before his claws snagged on fur. So it wasn't like he could go right through him after all. "So what does this have to do with me?"

Shatterbronze tried to look crestfallen, but instead just looked mocking. "I could really use your help, Tigerclaw. I know who you really are. I know we'd make a great team. This is an emergency. If you want to help my cause-"

"That is?"

"I'll get to that later," Shatterbronze promised. "I know you don't trust me. So, how about a deal that will benefit both of us? I'll be satisfied that you are willing to help me and in return, I will give you something that you want. Just so we're clear."

"So what will I get?"

Shatterbronze had hesitated then, looking a bit torn. "I'll tell you when we're all done. Here, take this."

The brown tom pushed the Moonstone piece forward gingerly with his tail, before clawing the edges to break off a bit of glowing dust. "That's all I need to get back. But the rest... that's yours to keep. Soon, you'll see a white she-cat coming towards you. Pass this on to her."

"No."

"What do you mean, no?"

"I don't know what I'm getting myself into."

Shatterbronze sighed, scratching his side with a spare paw. "Look, this is difficult for me, too. I promise it's going to be all worth it when it's over, just... cooperate for now, okay? I swear the reward will satisfy you."

"Which you won't tell me."

"Can you try to see it from my perspective?" Shatterbronze snapped. "Please stop being so impossible. Look, if you don't do this, you'll never see her again."

Leaf paused, a bit confused.

 _Her?_

 _Giving light to those who fight... Shining crescent in the sky..._

He wanted to ask so many things. Who was this 'her' that he spoke of? Was it someone he knew from his past life? Was it all coming back to him, piece by piece? He remembered so many feelings, but no memories; joy, companionship, suspicion, betrayal-

 _Unspeakable, glowing hot rage-_

"I'll do it," Leaf snapped with newfound determination. He pulled the glowing Moonstone piece closely to his side, but when he looked up, Shatterbronze was no longer there.

* * *

For a long time, we just stared at each other, none of us reacting. Most of Snowcoat's face was still hidden in shadows, but from what I could see of it was something unreadable, but not blank; an expression distant, but not lost. _Could this meeting just be another coincidence?_

Then Snowcoat suddenly gasped. "Crest! I mean, I was sort of expecting it to be you, but to actually see you here, it's amazing, I mean, I know it could have been someone else, our mom couldn't be the only one who ever knew that song but it wasn't like-"

She suddenly couldn't say any more, because Cakey bounded down the side of the cliff and rammed into her chest, burying her face into soft fluffy fur. I turned around, part of me feeling like I shouldn't be intruding in on a private moment, another feeling a bit embarrassed, and then a warm joy-

 _I helped make this happen._

"I never expected this to work," Cakey was sobbing. "I didn't even remember the words to that damn lullaby... it was one of the verses, I remember, something about love or whatever. But the chorus, I totally forgot-"

"Shining crescent in the sky," Snowcoat murmured.

Cakey blinked. "Huh?"

"The chorus. It was about the moon. Something about star crossed lovers staring dreamily at the sky. But this is better than having any mate." Snowcoat pulled Cakey into another hug.

Cakey coughed. "Well, actually, about that..."

 _Clink._

Something fell onto the ground beside them.

Something glowing white.

For a moment, no one spoke. Snowcoat looked a bit worried, but Cakey's expression was of absolute devastation. The former attempted to gather the stone into the coils of her tail again, but Cakey moved with surprising agility and smacked her sister away. "Is this a part of the Moonstone?" she demanded.

Snowcoat frowned. "This isn't for you, Crest. It's for someone I was going to deliver it to, but, well, I got sidetracked..."

Cakey wasn't listening. Glancing back at me, she said softly, "Come on, we're going home."

"But he _needs_ me-" Snowcoat protested weakly-

"-and _he_ needs _this_ -"

"-but-"

Cakey gathered up the stone gently in her mouth, then shoved her sister rather roughly up the path. "Go."

"Wait!" I called from the shadows. "What's going on?"

No one answered me. Cakey kept herding Snowcoat up the hill, the piece of Moonstone shining dazzlingly every time it found the glow of the moon, like a star was caught between her teeth.

 _Diamonds, claws, and crescent tears..._

I ran after them with my heart pounding.


	21. Frothing

**Good news: I've finally washed the crusted milk from my keyboard and now I don't have a semi-dysfunctional spacebar! By the way, on an entirely unrelated topic, this book is going to be longer than the others. Just too much stuff from the previous books jammed into this one.**

* * *

Chapter 19

Cedarpaw didn't stop until he saw the floating lights.

Someway, somehow, Sparrowchirp seemed to be getting heavier and heavier, and he had to keep repositioning himself so his jaws didn't ache so much. It didn't matter in the end; arcs of pain keep shooting up his neck and eventually, it just went numb.

For a moment, he thought he'd somehow died while lugging the she-cat along and he'd ended up in StarClan. Dots of light swam around the tree trunks and past his blurry eyes - miniature stars? Chunks of the sun? Really, was he burning up right now?

Then Cedarpaw caught the dark brown of wings, and he realized he was being stupid. Of course. Fireflies.

 _There are silhouettes out in the dark. See the shadows in the mist? Don't forget to bring a light._

Cedarpaw shook his head, as if shaking off thoughts. He didn't know where the voice came from, but it wasn't making him feel any less lonely. Out here, in the thick of the forest, he could hardly tell whether it was day or night. Every few moments, a branch cracked or some bird took flight, and every time he turned around, she would _be_ there-

"Stop," he muttered aloud. "Stop going crazy. No one's in your head, no dead cat is going to just stumble out of the bushes and attack you, they have better things to do all day than bother you-"

The hanging vines next to him trembled.

Cedarpaw froze, already imagining what could possibly leap out of the undergrowth at him. _Please. Enough possessed dead cats already._

Eventually, when no one jumped out at him, he pressed forward cautiously and poked his face through the vines. No one there either. So when he finally backed away again, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest when a blur of motion sped right past him.

"Hey!" he yelled, half in anger and half in shock.

He didn't expect whoever it was to turn around, but eventually, the cat skidded past a pile of rotten logs and paused. To his surprise, it was a she-cat - an apprentice-aged she-cat. She seemed much too tiny for her moons, but her stained claws and wild eyes suggested she'd been through much more.

Cedarpaw was tempted to stare, but the she-cat shrank back as if afraid of _him_ of all things. She was crouched in a defensive pose, but something told him she was more than ready to fight.

"Hey there," Cedarpaw said, taking a step forward. For some reason, his steps seemed to be clumsier and heavier than usual. "I'm not going to attack you, but what were you running from?"

The she-cat seemed more annoyed than angry now. She lowered her tail reluctantly at first, but then unsheathed her claws again as something seemed to occur to her. "Darn it. I can't trust you, sorry. I had been warned about this. How do I know I didn't know you, and you're just trying to trick me?"

Cedarpaw blinked, temporarily thrown off. "Excuse me, what? No, I don't... know you..."

"Oh, you don't need to know about that," the she-cat snapped. "But what I'm saying is... look, I don't care who you are. I don't care why you're here, and you don't need to know anything about me either. Those - _things_ \- are after me. I don't need another-"

Something angry and transparent shot out of the undergrowth, chattering angrily.

Cedarpaw had seen enough spirits in his life already to know what it was, although this one for some reason didn't seem like the ghost of a cat as much as a mindless cat-shaped thing. But whatever it was, it was enough to make the she-cat duck behind a tree. "Seriously, why do they move so fast?" she muttered.

He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he knew he couldn't just stand there and let her fend for herself. Silently thinking, _this is a very bad idea,_ he unsheathed his claws and slashed across the misty form as hard as he could as it hurled itself toward him.

Cedarpaw wasn't sure what he had been expecting. He had tried to wound Hiss before, and it had almost never worked.

But this time, the moment his claws connected, the spirit gave out one last surprised shriek and dissipated into tiny wisps of smoke before disappearing altogether. Stunned, he glanced around wildly as if expecting to pop back somewhere else, but that was it.

It was _really_ gone.

"I should have tried that," the she-cat sighed, "but I just assumed I couldn't hurt them. They were following me all the way. It's seriously annoying, not being able to relax. But wow, you're really dumb, are you? Or just really inexperienced. If you were wrong, they could have seriously killed you. Not that I care."

Cedarpaw was trying to hold himself back from slashing his claws across her face as well. "Um... maybe."

Just then, Sparrowchirp stirred. Cedarpaw glanced down at her hopelessly, wondering how he'd manage to explain anything, but just then, her eyes opened. Or rather, eye, singular. One eye was swollen shut from a vicious scar down her face, and there was blood trickling down her mouth still.

The she-cat was suddenly interested. "Ooh, is that your bae?"

"Does it look like she's anywhere close to my age?" Cedarpaw snapped, trying not to blush. Sparrowchirp was staring right at him, and it was creeping him out. She moved her mouth, like she was trying to say something, but only a groan came out.

Cedarpaw sighed. "I guess it'll take a while for her to recover, though-"

Just then, Sparrowchirp's eyes fell on the other she-cat, and they went wide with shock. Cedarpaw rushed forward, but it was too late. There were red bubbles starting to froth at her mouth, and she was kicking desperately like they were pointing to something.

Cedarpaw turned around, growling. "Do you know her?"

Before the she-cat could respond, Sparrowchirp stopped struggling and she went still.


	22. Please read (it's important)

**I am so, so sorry.**

 **Regardless of whether you have been reading every chapter or just here because you're curious, please read the following.**

 **This is a bit of a sudden announcement, but... I** **am no longer continuing this series, and that means this fanfic will remain unfinished.**

 **Thank you to all these who have taken the time to stay with this series for so long. If you still enjoy it, I can't express enough how grateful I am... but I've thought it over (and I actually have) and I've decided to just, in short, ditch the series.**

 **First of all , the premise isn't just really as exciting to me now as it was last year. It's been sort of a burden for me everyday to check on FFN and see if it's deadline day, as opposed to back in Song of the Shadows when I had five chapters in draft at a time.**

 **Second of all,** **even if I do decide to continue, it will be hard. Especially in the first book, with its many faults, there are a million different backstories and sideplots that I just can't piece together without it sounding really artificial. Plus, new readers that want to get into the series would have to go through Song of the Shadows, and...**

 ***shakes head***

 **I'm just going to start listing everything that's wrong with the first book: extremely confusing plot that even I can't make sense of, lots of flat characters that all sound the same, unrealistic character motivations, horrendously done accents, typos, potentially damaging portrayal of sensitive topics... I'm actually scared now every time I have to look back at it for reference.**

 **It just really doesn't meet up to my standards anymore, and I feel like I would be supporting the various faulty things inside the fanfic if I continued the series ._.**

 **Lastly...** **I want to have a fresh start here.**

 **Redo my profile, move on to a new age of me-being-on-FFN, explore outside my current fandom. Of course I'm still going to stay with the warrior cats, but I really want to write fanfics for some other stuff. I absolutely cannot BELIEVE how much of an idiot I was even a year ago. I said so many things I would never have said now. My writing was TERRIBLE, although I guess we all start from the same place.**

 **Overall... I hope you understand. Thank you for being with me. Thank you for reading this. I'm sorry if I sounded selfish at some parts or made some things a bigger deal than they actually were. But this is my decision.**

 **Please tell me in the reviews what you think, even if it's only a few words. I appreciate that some people are still here for me.**

 **I'm feeling a bit lonely right now...**

 **See you in another fanfic, I would love to have you come along~**

 **-Storm**


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